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The
PORT TIMES RECORD P O R T J E F F E R S O N • B E L L E T E R R E • P O R T J E F F E R S O N S TAT I O N • T E R R Y V I L L E
June 30, 2022
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Unforgettable
Port Jefferson students celebrate senior prom — A12-13
Photos by Rita Egan
A legacy of public service
Bruce Miller to leave office after eight years on the Port Jeff Board of Trustees
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SPACE RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBER ADDRESS
Kate Sommerstad and John Sheils walk the red carpet at the high school on June 28. Photo by Raymond Janis
Suffolk County Landbank provides updates on Lawrence Aviation property BY RITA J. EGAN RITA@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM Members of the nonprofit Suffolk County Landbank Corporation provided an update on the vacant Lawrence Aviation property in Port Jefferson Station during a Zoom meeting June 24. State Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket), Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) and representatives from Three Village and Port Jefferson Station/Terryville civic and chamber
groups sat in on the meeting. At the meeting, Sarah Lansdale, SCLBC president, said there are currently two proposals to install solar panels on the developed, industrial section of the property, which presently includes blighted buildings. The 126-acre Lawrence Aviation property had been vacant for more than 20 years when it was deemed a Superfund site. The airplane parts company that once operated out of the location was accused of leaching
chemicals into the ground. A cleanup was completed in 2009 and asbestos was removed from some of the buildings in 2015, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. There are 11 claimants to the property that have been part of a settlement that has been going on for several years, according to Lansdale. The settlement agreement, signed by all claimants, is ready for final review with the U.S. Federal Department of Justice.
Among those claimants is Suffolk County, according to Peter Scully, deputy county executive and SCLBC board member. The county has not received taxes from owners since the early 1990s. Scully said that has translated into more than $18 million burden for county taxpayers. Lansdale said the EPA’s claim is more than $50 million due to its cleanup. For the last few years, the SCLBC has been reaching out to local LAWRENCE AVIATION CONTINUED ON A9
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Elvis rocks into local theaters
Also: Northport Historical Society hosts Summer Splendor Garden Tour
Photo courtesy John Damaskos
Vol. 35, No. 32
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