Resident thanks town board for battery storage moratorium, asks planning board how to follow up

Tammy Palmeri, a lifelong Deer Park resident, used public comment time at the Town of Babylon Planning Board meeting on Jan. 27, 2025, to thank officials for a local moratorium on battery energy storage systems and to raise safety concerns following reporting on the Moss Landing fire in California.

"It is absolutely catastrophic," Palmeri said referring to coverage of the Moss Landing incident, and said she was "thanking you" for the moratorium and for a reported six‑month extension. The chair told Palmeri she had thanked "the wrong people" and said the board would inform the town supervisor and members of the town board who had initiated the moratorium and extension that Palmeri had commented; the chair said her comments would be shared with those officials.

Palmeri also asked about a separate property referenced in her remarks (she said the site name as heard in the meeting as "Thor 377 Carlsbad"). Board members said that specific development question would be better handled by the planning department or the fire marshal and that the planning board addresses items once they are formally submitted as proposals. Planning Board member Matt Esposito offered to email Palmeri the schedule for regular board meetings and follow up by email.

No formal action on the moratorium or related policies was taken during the planning board meeting; board members did not vote on the matter. The chair said the planning board would relay Palmeri’s comments to the town supervisor and town board. The board advised residents seeking updates to contact the planning department or attend town board meetings for information on moratorium status and any future extensions.