Sunrise Senior Living seeks zone change at corner of Old Bridge and Pulaski Road; public hearing set for June 15

A public hearing for a zone change application that would allow, if approved, a two-story, 90-unit assisted living facility to be built in East Northport is scheduled for Tuesday, June 15 at 7pm.

In April 2020, representatives from Sunrise Senior Living submitted an application to the Town of Huntington to change the zoning for the property, located on the northwest corner of Old Bridge and Pulaski Road, from R-20 Residence District to R-HS Residential Health Services District. Later that month, the town’s planning board voted unanimously to move the application forward to the town board for a public hearing.

With the exception of a single family house/rental with tenants on its southeast corner, the property has been vacant, and unkempt, for decades. The store formerly occupied by A&A Hay and Feed was destroyed in a fire on June 8, 2000. At the time, an illegal pit bull kennel was also being run on the property.

The proposed Sunrise community would include 50 assisted living suites and 40 memory care suites. A separate sewage treatment plant is also proposed for the northeast corner of the property.

If all goes according to plan, officials would break ground at the end of 2022, said Philip Kroskin, SVP of Real Estate for Sunrise Senior Living.

This would be the third Sunrise Senior Living facility in the town of Huntington, joining Sunrise of Dix Hills on Deer Park Avenue and Sunrise of Huntington on West Hills Road.

“Sunrise is very pleased to continue to serve the residents and seniors of Long Island and Huntington,” said Kroskin. “We provide a service that is needed, that is underserved in the market, both for today and in the future, and we care for people who otherwise may not be able to care for themselves.”

Sunrise is just one of many facilities for seniors in Suffolk County, a point noted by Angela Cowie, a concerned resident who has lived off Old Bridge Road, just north of the proposed development, for almost 40 years. She listed the large number of facilities in the county, as well as increased traffic, and land once deemed contaminated as reasons she’s against the Sunrise plan.

According to Craig Turner, Principal Planner for the TOH Department of Planning and Environment, the soil at the property was tested and found to have contaminants in it 20 years ago, when an application for a residential subdivision there went through the town but never came to fruition. Should the Sunrise Senior Living plan move forward, he said, a clean-up of the property would be completed, with any contaminants removed and/or buried on site. New testing would then be conducted to ensure that the property and soil is sufficiently clean by New York State standards.

Cowie also stated as one of her main concerns that the stretch of Pulaski Road, from Larkfield Road to Townline Road, has no facilities like this, nothing commercial, just residences, she said.

“People can say this is like a residence because people are living there,” she said. “Yes, you can consider it a residence, but it’s still a commercial operation, it’s still for profit.”

But Kroskin stressed that the zoning is not changing significantly, and meeting the town requirement specific to assisted living facilities.

“So we currently have a residential zone and we are going to a residential zone,” he said. “These buildings are people’s homes where they get services. It’s still residential in nature. People are renting their unit, and then they’re paying separately for care as needed.”

The burdens on the municipal system are minimal, Kroskin continued, with no school-aged children being added to the district, limited vehicular movements and a nominal amount of ambulances (he estimated seven to ten ambulance visits per month).

Any perceived burden, he said, would be offset by the tax money the town will benefit from: “Financially, we are creating a massive new tax base for the town,” said Kroskin. “We are a very strong net positive to any municipality.”

Residents will have a chance to voice their own opinions at tomorrow’s town board public hearing. Council members will then vote on the zone change; when they vote is up to them, said Principal Planner, Craig Turner. It’s unlikely they’ll vote the night of the hearing, he said, but they may render a decision at the next board meeting in July, or take longer, if needed. If the zone change is approved, Sunrise would move forward with the process and the project, and submit a site plan application to the planning board.

The agenda for the June 15, 2021 town board meeting can be found here. You must register prior to the meeting to speak during the public hearing.

The hearing will be simulcast on Cablevision Television Channel 18, Verizon Channel 38, and live-streamed on the town’s website (www.huntingtonny.gov) at 7pm.