Hundreds weigh in as Huntington board leaves Rosewood Farm historic-overlay hearing open until May

The Town of Huntington left a lengthy public hearing open until May 13 after residents, preservationists and the property's owners debated whether to apply the town's Historic Building Overlay District to the 24-acre Rosewood Farm estate at 473 Woodbury Road.

The hearing drew about 71 people who signed up to speak and ran into a second session before Supervisor Edmund Smith moved to keep the record open. "We're gonna leave this hearing open until the May meeting," the supervisor said, and the board voted to adjourn public comment on the item until May 13 at 2 p.m.

The applicants, Jan and Jude Rosenfeld, and their counsel and design team described a plan to preserve the estate's historic buildings while operating a 23-room boutique hotel and wellness retreat with a spa and farm-to-table dining for registered guests. Michael McCarthy, attorney for the applicants, told the board the owners would preserve the manor and outbuildings, limit disruptive uses and accept conditions. "No events. No events. No tents. No no no disco balls," McCarthy said, adding the owners submitted a list of proposed conditions they said would prevent large outdoor gatherings.

Historic-preservation advocates and several speakers for the project said adaptive…