Town hears hospital proposal for three-year helipad license at Mill Dam Park

The Town of Huntington on May 13 took public testimony on a proposed three-year license allowing Huntington Hospital to use a portion of the Mill Dam Park parking field as a helipad from Aug. 1, 2025 through July 31, 2028.

Hospital counsel told the board the renewal would allow “transport[ing] patients in need of emergency care, or for urgently needed organ transplants” and that the town and hospital hold a registration with the New York State Department of Transportation under the facility name "Huntington Emergency Heli Stop." Attorney Michael Margolin represented the hospital at the hearing and described the helipad as "extremely important to the hospital and to the community as a whole." Town Clerk Andrew Rea certified publication and posting of required notices in the Long Islander and the Observer.

A public commenter identified himself as Daniel Karpin and urged the board to withdraw the proposal, calling the helipad an "illegal use of public land" and alleging tree cutting at Mill Dam Park had been done in violation of the State Environmental Quality Review Act and New York's Freshwater Wetlands laws. Karpin urged the hospital to instead construct a landing pad on an existing parking deck near the hospital, saying that the $42,000 payment to the town proposed by the hospital "I regard as a bribe."

No vote or license approval was recorded at the hearing; the board closed the public hearing for that item during the meeting. Testimony and legal claims about prior tree cutting and environmental compliance were entered into the record for the boards consideration; any legal questions about wetlands or SEQRA compliance would be addressed through the towns review process or subsequent agency referrals.

The town clerk confirmed the required affidavits of publication and posting and that property owners and the public had been notified. The record closed for the item and the town took no immediate action during the May 13 meeting.