First public hearings set on proposed $500M redevelopment of Mastic Beach downtown

Nearly eight years after the Village of Mastic Beach met its demise, Brookhaven Town will hold the first formal public hearings on Thursday to discuss a proposed $500 million redevelopment of the former village's blighted downtown.

Supporters of the plan, which includes many Mastic Beach residents, say it will help revitalize the hamlet's business district by bringing in hundreds of new residents while adding the kind of amenities such as pubs and shops that have helped nearby villages like Patchogue thrive.

The town in 2023 named Jericho-based The Beechwood Organization as master developer for a plan calling for about 600 new homes, including town houses and rental apartments, and a total of 130,000 square feet of retail space. Plans also include new sewers and storm drains, and underground electrical service to replace overhead power lines, officials said.

The community of 15,300 people has struggled with vacant houses, absentee landlords and overcrowded homes occupied by people on public assistance.

"The objective is to write a new, positive chapter in the history of Mastic Beach [and] to turn vagrancy and vacancy into vibrancy," Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico said on Aug. 18 in a telephone interview. "Mastic Beach and the good people who reside there deserve a downtown that they can be proud of."

A series of public hearings to discuss downtown rezoning and a land use plan are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Thursday at Brookhaven Town Hall in Farmingville.

The village disbanded on the last day of 2017 after years of political squabbles and financial problems.

Town officials quickly promised a face-lift, including a major redevelopment of Mastic Beach's Neighborhood Road business district, often described by residents and officials as an eyesore or a ghost town.

Beechwood and town officials last November unveiled a plan to rezone about 37 acres and 140 parcels in a triangle-shaped section including Neighborhood and Commack roads and Doris Drive. Hundreds attending the special meeting at William Floyd High School in Mastic Beach applauded the proposal, though some speakers raised concerns about the height of some buildings and the project's potential impact on traffic.

Former Mastic Beach Mayor Maura Spery said the proposal was mostly in line with a 2016 town master plan for the hamlet, adding she supported the project despite some reservations.

"We gave them a really good blueprint [in 2016] to try to get a master developer to do the downtown. Would I have preferred a smaller project? Yes," Spery said. "But it’s better than what is there now."

Town Councilwoman Karen Dunne Kesnig, who represents Mastic Beach, said in an emailed statement residents are "overwhelmingly positive about this project and supportive of all that is being done to move forward. There is still a very small segment who oppose it, but it seems that there is nothing we can do to satisfy them."

Beechwood principal Steven Dubb said in a phone interview the company hoped to start construction early next year.

He said most new buildings would be two stories, and some would be four stories "but will look like three stories with a façade." He said he would be reluctant to lower building heights because that would reduce the number of housing units.

"I think there was concern that the buildings would be higher than they are," Dubb said. "The economics of the project have to work. You need a certain density."

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.