Momentum Fades for Revamp of Downtown Stony Brook

Nearly a year after leaders heralded an idea to revamp downtown Stony Brook into a bustling hub for small business and community attractions, the energy behind the project has all but faded with the exit of former town Supervisor Mark Lesko.

“There didn’t seem to be alignment for the Chamber [of Commerce] and the supervisor,” town councilman Steve Fiore-Rosenfeld said in a recent interview with Patch. “Until there is some sort of good will to move ahead with the planning process, it’s been dead in the water.”

A Lesko-backed August 2012 gathering, dubbed the “Stony Brook Safety, Beautification and Improvement Committee,” put a host of local leaders in a room together, and while all agreed that some sort of change was necessary along the Route 25A corridor between Bennetts Road and the businesses just west of the LIRR station, details were scarce.

New town supervisor Ed Romaine said he would back creating a committee to explore the idea, but put the onus on Fiore-Rosenfeld to propose it.

“In my view this project is still possible,” Romaine said. “I’m prepared to co-sponsor this anytime. The ball is in the court of the current councilman.”

The finger pointing continues. Fiore-Rosenfeld said he had been waiting on the Three Village Chamber of Commerce to name its representatives, while Chamber president Michael Ardolino called the delay in choosing representation a “timing issue.”

He did say he thinks the idea still has merit: “I think if it’s well-thought-out and planned correctly, it could benefit everyone.”

The idea was the brainchild of Lesko, who stepped down in September 2012 to take on the role of executive director of Accelerate Long Island, a collaboration between the public, private and academic sectors that hopes to fuel job growth and economic development on Long Island. Before Lesko’s exit, the Town of Brookhaven sent out a request for proposals to find a master planner – not a developer – to help the committee shape its vision.

One master planner responded to the RFP. But when Romaine was elected in November of 2012 to replace Lesko, he put the project on hold, citing a lack of community input on the idea.

Lesko’s original idea to study the area was in response to a plan released by Stony Brook University that said increased enrollment and more dormitories were on the way – a plan viewed as controversial by the local community.

Fiore-Rosenfeld said that given the university’s plan, it’s critical that the community acknowledge that and plan accordingly for what would likely be an influx of student and commuter traffic in that area.

“Do I think it’s necessary? Yes,” he said. “The university is planning to build all those dormitories. This is not some sort of blighted commercial corridor; it’s active. This is simply ‘how do we plan to deal with what is going to be an even greater influx of students?’ I think that’s the primary motivation.”

Herb Mones, a past president of the Civic Association of the Setaukets and Stony Brook who sat on the original Stony Brook Safety, Beautification and Improvement Committee, said he believes a lack of leadership on all levels has essentially led to the death of the idea.

“I don’t get the sense that the Chamber wants to engage in it, I don’t get the sense that the town wants to engage with it,” he said. “I think that our local officials are remiss of not pushing and engaging and putting their full enthusiasm behind this proposal.”