LIE Rest Stop - SuffolkJournal.com

No Rest for Weary
on LIE?
by Jane Lee Bock

June 27, 2001 (Photo: Protesters at the LIE rest stop two years ago, thought they had heard the last of the proposal)

The New York State Department of Transportation resurrected what residents thought was a dead issue this week and held a scoping hearing about constructing a "Rest Stop" between Exits 51 and 52 of the LIE. At an estimated cost of $22 million of both federal and state money, this proposal was received no better than the last.

The proposed project, if completed, would upgrade an existing parking area located just east of Carll's Straight Path on the eastbound side of the expressway. The state would also construct a Long Island Travel and Information Center (LITIC) which would replace the Long Island Convention and Visitor's Bureau railroad car Tourist Information Center. Truck stop parking and vehicle parking would be added, as well as a substantial building to house the tourist info, vending machines, restrooms, and a Suffolk County Police substation.

Another proposal for such a site was offered in 1997, supported by Senator James Lack, and opposed by County Legislator Allan Binder. At that time, homeowners from the surrounding residential communities rose up in outrage at the project and eventually the matter faded away. The DOT said that plan ended because they had included a gas station at the site which is not allowed under federal law.

Sources say that U.S. Senator Alphonse D'Amato was supposed to champion a change to that law that would allow a gas station to be built at the site, but when his bid for re-election failed, no other senator took up the battle.

DOT spokespersons at the hearing said they never abandoned the idea altogether, they just listened to the comments and revised it. There is no gas station planned for this site, which is currently occupied by a NYS DOT recharge basin, a parking area with public telephones, portable toilets, and the LICVB information car.

What is now a raggedly conglomeration of the LICVB's trailer, portable toilets and unmarked parking areas, would be transformed into an attractively landscaped site accessible only from the eastbound LIE and "designed to reflect the local architecture in the town of Huntington," according to the DOT brochure.

It was nice that the DOT hired an architect for this new proposal, said the neighbors, but they still don't want it. During the last go-round, the town of Huntington was not too happy with it either, sources said, and letters of opposition flew back and forth between Legislator Binder and Senator Lack for quite some time as well.

Residents at the meeting couldn't believe they were being asked to look over yet another plan to create a "truck stop" adjacent to a residential area.

"If you get off the LIE at that exit there are restaurants, gas stations, telephones and everything you'd need within a mile," said Steven Meisner. "All they need to do is put signs at the exits directing truckers off of the LIE for services."

Others, who recently moved to the area said they were particularly concerned with the truck stop. Idling motors would add to air pollution, they argued. The DOT says there will be a four-hour limit to truck parking and a security guard on the property at all times to enforce the rules. Nevertheless, neighbors didn't believe that truckers would be forced to move on after four hours.

"This is the Taj Mahal for vending machines. The foundation for putting in a McDonald's or something else," said a neighbor who asked not to be identified. "I pay $9,000 a year in taxes and I don't want to live next door to this."

Other neighbors said they feel this is a prelude to a bigger plan; one that involves the construction of an intermodal transportation hub on the Pilgrim State Hospital property which has just been sold for development. An intermodal hub would allow goods to be shipped by rail to Pilgrim where they would be offloaded to trucks for local delivery and vice versa.

"There is no reason to do this unless there is a bigger picture we don't know about," said Ken Meserole.

"There is no need for this," Meisner told the DOT representatives. "You are creating a need for this rest stop where one does not exist. If you must build one, build it at Exit 66 where there is nobody around."

The rest stop at that exit was closed due to complaints about illegal activities occurring regularly at the site, including drug sales and prostitution.

Huntington's own Specialist Tara Kelly, U.S. Army Reserve, 340 Military Police Unit has been deployed on a peace keeping mission to Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo. After extensive training at Fort Bragg, the unit, based in Queens, New York is scheduled for a six-month assignment in Kosovo. Their job in Kosovo will be support of Operation Joint Guardian, performing a law and order mission with other NATO peacekeepers in the Balkin region. Specialist Kelly was looking forward to serving in Kosovo, however her parents were a little anxious about Tara's new assignment. Tara's parents Susan Morandi and Patrick Kelly, both Town of Huntington employees are proud of their daughter.