Wanted: Developer to fix blighted Long Island downtown

The town wants proposals for the half-acre stretch of downtown to include housing, retail, and restaurants

Wanted: Developer to fix blighted Long Island downtown
Mastic Beach (Google Maps)

Mastic Beach’s downtown has seen better days — a fact not lost on Brookhaven Town officials.

They have put out word that a master planner is needed to spearhead the redevelopment of Mastic Beach’s business district, according to Newsday.

The town is seeking a comprehensive redevelopment plan for the roughly half-mile stretch of downtown that includes housing, retail, and restaurants.

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The town released its request for proposals last month and responses are due Sept. 13. Several other Suffolk and Nassau County towns and villages are undertaking similar redevelopment projects.

Riverhead, for one, began accepting requests for qualifications in March to redevelop the area around its Long Island Rail Road station. Hempstead is further along with its effort, a state-funded project to redevelop downtown Baldwin.

Southampton town officials last summer rezoned Hampton Bays’ downtown, but a state judge stalled that plan last week following a lawsuit brought by a non-lawyer local who views the proposed density as too great. [Newsday] — Dennis Lynch

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