Jean-Paul Salamanca

Long Island, New York

Smithtown Reporter w/@Newsday, formerly East End. @columbiajourn Grad,Data Specialization, Proud Uncle & Skydiver. Send tips to: [email protected]

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Articles

Smithtown weighs zone change for $220M Kings Park condo plan

1 day ago | newsday.com | Jean-Paul Salamanca

The developer behind a $220 million luxury housing project in Kings Park is vying for a zone change that would pave the way for its ultimate approval, but the plan has sparked contentious debate over the project's impact on the community. The Beechwood Organization is requesting a zone change for Country Pointe Estates, a 288-unit development that would span 71.1 acres on the corner of Old Northport and Lawrence Roads.
Rob Trotta, Ed Wehrheim battle in GOP primary for Smithtown supervisor's race

4 days ago | newsday.com | Jean-Paul Salamanca

Suffolk Legis. Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) and Smithtown Supervisor Edward Wehrheim are competing in a June Republican primary in the Smithtown supervisor's race, with development in Kings Park emerging as a key issue. Trotta is running on a slate with two challengers who say the Wehrheim administration has been too aggressive in its approach to approving development in Kings Park. Wehrheim is vying for his third four-year term and has served in office since 2018.
Church, Village of the Branch feud over festival denial

6 days ago | newsday.com | Jean-Paul Salamanca

St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church of Smithtown and Village of the Branch have been embroiled in a yearlong legal dispute over the denial of a church-sponsored festival featuring mechanical rides. In March 2024, the church on East Main Street sought the village's approval to hold a "family festival with rides, games and food" that was "crucial to the church’s survival,” according to a lawsuit filed in Suffolk State Supreme Court.
Brookhaven, Smithtown seek state help for road reconstruction

1 week ago | newsday.com | Carl Macgowan |Jean-Paul Salamanca

Brookhaven and Smithtown officials said Wednesday they plan to seek help from state and Suffolk County officials to break an impasse with a Stony Brook nonprofit that they say has blocked efforts to reconstruct a road, dam and mill pond destroyed by a rainstorm last August.
New underpass links Avalon Preserve Park to water's edge

3 weeks ago | newsday.com | Jean-Paul Salamanca

A new pedestrian underpass opened that links the Avalon Nature Preserve on the North Shore to the water's edge at Stony Brook Harbor. The underpass is below Harbor Road and connects the preserve's memorial garden and native woodlands to the Shore Farm property, which lies north of Harbor Road and west of Shep Jones Lane. The nonprofit preserve purchased the 29-acre Shore Farm property for $7.8 million in 2016, Newsday previously reported.
Village of the Branch weighs historic district traffic signal

4 weeks ago | newsday.com | Jean-Paul Salamanca

After a state plan to build a larger mast-arm traffic signal in a historic part of Village of the Branch drew opposition, officials are homing in on a compromise. Last year, the state Department of Transportation sought to replace the longtime wire-apparatus signal system with a new cantilevered, mast-arm one on the corner of Hemlock Lane and Route 25. Village officials and local historians objected, arguing the proposed system was too large and out of character for the historic district.
Suffolk Water Authority to replacing aging water main in Head of the Harbor

1 month ago | newsday.com | Jean-Paul Salamanca

The Suffolk County Water Authority is replacing aging water main pipes in the Village of Head of the Harbor in response to concerns from residents about water quality, officials said. The water authority has been working to replace roughly 2,800 feet of water main pipes with new ones made of ductile iron. The main is under Moriches Road, Fifty Acre Road, Cordwood Path and surrounding streets, according to the Suffolk County Water Authority.
Plan for Shake Shack in Commack, near Lowe's, advances

1 month ago | newsday.com | Jean-Paul Salamanca

The Town of Smithtown advanced plans for Shake Shack — the Manhattan-based chain featuring burgers and shakes — to open a new restaurant in Commack. The Smithtown Town Board approved site plans for the company to build a 3,553 square-foot food retail building with outdoor seating and a drive-thru. The restaurant would be located on a 19.4-acre property on the southwest corner of Crooked Hill Road and Henry Street in Commack.
Mill Creek Road repairs in Head of the Harbor progress

1 month ago | newsday.com | Jean-Paul Salamanca |Carl Macgowan

Repairs to Mill Creek Road in Head of the Harbor — the only entrance point for a seven-home neighborhood — are expected to be finished this month, village and nonprofit officials said, after the road was badly damaged by an August storm. That puts restoration of the road well ahead of efforts in Stony Brook to repair Harbor Road, which, along with a pond, dam and bridge,was destroyed by the same storm.
Halt to rail project spurs Smithtown to withdraw proposed code amendments

1 month ago | newsday.com | Jean-Paul Salamanca

Smithtown is withdrawing proposed amendments to the town code that would have added rules on rail freight terminals and transfer stations had a controversial Kings Park waste management project gone forward. The town board voted 5-0 at their regular meeting Tuesday at Town Hall to withdraw two proposed amendments to the town code. Last week, a developer announced a halt to a planned Kings Park rail project to transfer incinerator ash and construction debris off the Island.