One of Three NYS “Spotlight Communities” Demonstrating How Existing State Programs Can Support and Complement Local Efforts to Develop Brownfields and Achieve Smart Growth Initiatives 

Babylon (Suffolk County), NY:  Long Island, New York: the name conjures images of leafy commuter suburbs - communities first shaped by the path of commuter rail, then re-shaped by the paths of highways as public policies favoring the automobile overtook rail as the dominant mode of transportation.  Rail-oriented development, concentrated around stations, gave way to the sprawl of development served by highways.  Wyandanch, a rail-centered hamlet in the Town of Babylon, faded.  Vacant, underutilized land, obsolete improvements and brownfields give testimony to better days.

But not tomorrow. That’s because the Town of Babylon intends to leverage Wyandanch’s main asset, a train station on the Long Island Railroad line, and breathe new life into this south shore community. Town officials are planning a multi-phase, 134-acre project - a transit-oriented development - guided by the principles of “smart growth” and aided by a diverse financing plan. The Town’s efforts were recognized by the State of New York, which designated Wyandanch as one of three “spotlight communities,” an initiative designed to demonstrate how existing state programs can support and complement local efforts to redevelop brownfields and achieve neighborhood revitalization and smart growth.  

NDC’s field director Kevin Gremse, a Long Island native, has provided the Town of Babylon, an NDC client community, with planning and financing expertise that is helping to guide the complex project. (more…)