Planning & Land Use
Commerce Bank Rebuffed
Sep 07, 2008
Recently, representatives from Commerce Bank were
going up and down Hawkins Avenue trying to get local
merchants to change banks and come bank with them.
They got an earful from many local shopkeepers. Many
told Commerce Bank representatives that their
corporate policies of refusing to work with local
communities and their insistence on cutting down
trees and destroying pristine property instead of
redeveloping a previously developed site, means that
they will never become customers of Commerce Bank.
Local businesses understand that when large corporations ignore the redevelopment goals and revitalization efforts of communities, that it makes it much harder to sustain a vital downtown business district. One would think that a bank, which depends on the business of local merchants, would be more sensitive to community planning efforts. It may be too late for our community, but maybe, just maybe, by hitting Commerce Bank in the wallet they might change their policies before they inflict themselves on the next community.
Local businesses understand that when large corporations ignore the redevelopment goals and revitalization efforts of communities, that it makes it much harder to sustain a vital downtown business district. One would think that a bank, which depends on the business of local merchants, would be more sensitive to community planning efforts. It may be too late for our community, but maybe, just maybe, by hitting Commerce Bank in the wallet they might change their policies before they inflict themselves on the next community.
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Response to Newsday Article
Sep 07, 2008
The following letter was sent to Newsday in response
to "Residents to boycott bank on site of proposed
memorial", in the 8/10/2008 edition, by Patrick
Whittle.Read
more...
Battle with Commerce Bank makes Newsday
Sep 07, 2008
In case you missed it, we were able to get Newsday to
publish a story about our battle with Commerce Bank
on Sunday, August 10th in the LI Life
section.Read
more...
Ronkonkoma Hub Plan Phase II Meeting
Sep 07, 2008
Ronkonkoma Hub
Transit-Oriented Redevelopment Study
Informational Meeting
Phase II
Recommendations
Thursday,
September 18, 7:00 PM
Brookhaven Town Hall Auditorium
2nd Floor, One Independence Hill,
Farmingville
An “Ill-Conceived” Site Plan Gets Approved, and Ronkonkoma Residents Get To Suffer
Jun 03, 2008
Shockingly, on March 24, 2008 the Town of Brookhaven
Planning Board approved the site plan for a Commerce
Bank to be constructed on Portion Road. Despite the
Planning Board’s recognition that Commerce Bank’s
site plan was “an ill-conceived project for
this particular parcel of land,” six of the
seven Planning Board members voted to approve the
plan.Read
more...
Portion Road Visioning Update
May 05, 2008
Members of the Civic Executive Board met with the
Suffolk County Department of Public Works engineers
and County Legislator Brian Beedenbender on April 1,
2008 to discuss the status of the Portion Road
improvement project.
Read more...
Read more...
Newsday Article on Commerce Bank
Feb 19, 2008
Daniel Wagner of Newsday has written a brief article
describing the situation with the proposed
Commerce Bank on Portion Road in the Long
Island Edition of Newsday for Tuesday, February
19th, page A33.
You can also read the article online at http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzwagner0219,0,1838331.story. Scroll down to see the item titled "Vote on bank development."
You can also read the article online at http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzwagner0219,0,1838331.story. Scroll down to see the item titled "Vote on bank development."
Success! Bavarian Inn Update
Feb 06, 2008
Thanks to the efforts of members and other
organizations, the Suffolk County Legislature voted
on Tuesday afternoon to override the County
Executive's veto, allowing the County to investigate
possibly purchase of the Bavarian Inn property. Both
Legislators Kennedy and Beedenbender voted yea to
pass the resolution.
The County will now proceed to prepare a report regarding the property, which will include information such as a survey, assessment, appraisal, and an environmental audit. Given the environmentally-sensitive location of the building, having the County gather this information is invaluable to the community.
The property report will take 6 to 8 weeks to prepare and after it is complete a decision on the disposition of the property will be made. The Civic will keep you informed as the situation develops.Read more...
The County will now proceed to prepare a report regarding the property, which will include information such as a survey, assessment, appraisal, and an environmental audit. Given the environmentally-sensitive location of the building, having the County gather this information is invaluable to the community.
The property report will take 6 to 8 weeks to prepare and after it is complete a decision on the disposition of the property will be made. The Civic will keep you informed as the situation develops.Read more...
Commerce Bank Proposal Update
Feb 03, 2008
As outlined in the January issue of the Fourth Wave,
Commerce Bank is proposing to site a new bank in
Lake Ronkonkoma. On the surface, this is not bad
news: more choices for consumer banking is always
welcome, and there are some areas along Portion
Road that are ripe for redevelopment. Old, empty
and/or under-utilized parcels would be great
possibilities for a new bank in our community.
However, Commerce Bank has chosen one of the few
remaining green tracts in the area to place their
new bank. Read
more...
Ronkonkoma Hub Plan Update
Feb 02, 2008
A well-attended community meeting for the ongoing
Ronkonkoma Hub Planning and Land Use Study was held
on Thursday, January 17th, at Brookhaven Town Hall.
Besides community residents, many elected officials
and staff members from several government agencies
were there to explain the study and discuss it with
the community.Read
more...
Development Threatens Nearby Residents
Jan 07, 2008
You have probably driven past it countless times
without giving it a second thought, and yet during
the Portion Road Visioning, in October of 2004,
hundreds of you had identified this property as a
desirable location for a memorial park. Now
it may disappear. Commerce Bank has decided to cut
down all of the trees and remove the hill to
completely flatten the site, and construct a bank
with a multi-lane drive-thru adjacent to the homes on
the south side of the property. But you can help
prevent this from happening.
Read more...
Read more...
Yet Another Unnecessary Flag Lot
Dec 31, 2007
The Lake Ronkonkoma Civic Organization often
addresses the Brookhaven Town Board, the Planning
Board, and the Zoning Board of Appeals on
applications in the Lake Ronkonkoma, Holbrook and
Farmingville areas in the Civic’s boundaries. One
such application involved a change-of-zone for the
CVS parcel at the corner of Portion Road and Holbrook
Road in Lake Ronkonkoma. This was a complicated
application in that it was not readily apparent what
the intent was, but after our initial meeting with
the developer, it became clear.Read
more...
Brookhaven 2030: The Town Plans Ahead
Nov 07, 2007
The Town of Brookhaven has started a 3-year program
to update the Town’s Comprehensive Plan, which has
been titled Brookhaven 2030. Read more...