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Residents urge board to halt proposed Little East Neck Road industrial park over traffic, health and environmental concerns
Summary
Multiple Wheatley Heights and Wyandanch residents told the Town of Babylon board that a proposed industrial park and rezoning would harm traffic, air quality, property values and community character; speakers cited FEIS concerns and asked the board to reject rezoning.
Several dozen residents spoke at the Town of Babylon meeting on Oct. 8 to oppose a proposed industrial park on Little East Neck Road, saying the project would bring heavy truck traffic, diesel pollution and harms to local quality of life.
Speakers from Wheatley Heights and nearby neighborhoods described the proposal as a 100‑acre project they said is budgeted at roughly $250 million, with thousands of parking spaces and as many as 2,000 employees. "This massive project will destroy the life that we have come to love and enjoy," Theresa Wallace said, adding that the plan calls for "nine massive 30‑foot tall warehouses with over 300 trucking bays" and raised unknown chemical‑emissions risks.
Other speakers focused on the project's expected traffic impacts on Little East Neck Road and adjacent neighborhood streets. "Little East Neck Road is a country road, one lane in each direction," Margaret Carmata said. "Two thousand employees going in one way and coming out the same way — how are you going to do that?" Paul Gustafson and others warned the board that construction and operation would increase congestion and create cut‑through traffic on local roads.
Speakers also cited public‑health data and environmental reports. Felicita Pitt and Theresa Wallace referenced higher pediatric asthma rates in the area and urged the board to consider cumulative pollution from existing nearby facilities and additional warehouses. Ruthie Scheck criticized a map used in the project's studies and questioned whether traffic counting captured peak neighborhood hours.
No board action was taken during the meeting; these remarks were delivered during the open comment portion. Several speakers asked the board not to rezone the parcels and requested more complete traffic and environmental review before any approval.
