DEC Monitoring Cow Harbor Park In Northport's Soil After 'Petrochemical Odor' Found

NORTHPORT, NY — The planned basketball court project at Cow Harbor Park has long been debated by Northport Village officials, whether it was about funding or scope. But things took a twist when a boring study from 2022 found the "odor of petrochemicals at interface" near the potential dig site for the court, as Cow Harbor Park was once home to a LILCO power plant.

The revelation has led to a Northport Village trustee notifying the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Environmental Protection Agency; the deputy mayor being fired from his position; a contentious board meeting; and health concerns from residents.

In 2021, the Northport High School 1995 Long Island Champion boys basketball team began fundraising efforts to refurbish the park's basketball court. Thomas Radman, a member of the 1995 Northport High School team, said he estimates the court will cost approximately $336K total. More than $86K was raised on a GoFundMe, and Radman said $75K will be matched by a NYS State and Municipal Facilities grant.

The team has $161K in funding through the fundraiser and anticipated grant, which is enough to demolish the court and re-lay the new court, Radman said. The team would still need funding for beautification elements, such as a rain garden, seating for families, and improved drainage to protect the harbor from rainwater runoff.

Village officials have since debated how the rest of the money would be raised with concern to taxpayers.

McDonald Geoservices on Nov. 9, 2022, published the results of a boring study it did at Cow Harbor Park. Water was found just over 5 feet below the surface, along with a petrochemical smell. Mixed sand, loam and gravel are above the water.

A Northport resident FOIL'ed the study almost a year later, bringing it to the attention of trustees Joseph Sabia, Ernest Pucillo and Dave Weber, who said they were unaware of it until late October.

The DEC, in a statement Friday, said it requested the Town of Huntington and Village of Northport submit a site investigation plan by this past Saturday to determine soil and groundwater conditions at the area of Cow Harbor Park where the petrochemical odor was found.

"DEC continues to closely monitor the situation to ensure all actions comply with applicable state laws and regulations that are protective of public health and the environment," the agency stated.

The DEC said it is assessing historic information about Cow Harbor Park after "receiving a report about potential contamination."

Northport Mayor Donna Koch told Patch that Northport Village is "fully cooperating" with all DEC requests and protocols.

"We are moving forward with requested DEC testing," Koch said. "We as a Village are fully committed to whatever inquiry the DEC deems appropriate on the site."

While the DEC is monitoring the situation, the testing is being done by a private contractor, The LiRo Group. The Town of Huntington and Village of Northport worked together to retain the LiRo Group, and Northport is paying the $7,500 for the testing, said Trustee Meghan Dolan, who was recently appointed as Northport deputy mayor.

Pucillo said Koch "failed" to notify the DEC and EPA of the study when it was published, so he called the DEC to inform it of the petrochemical odor at the park and sent the agency a letter for documentation. Pucillo says he since turned the letter over to the village.

Koch said the results of the boring study did not require the village to disclose the information.

"As noted by our consultants, upon whom the Village relies, in their written report, none of the test results herein required further disclosure," Koch said.

She did not respond to request for further comment on Pucillo's statement.

Weber, the day the resident informed him of the study, said he spoke with J.R. Holzmacher P.E., an engineering company in Ronkonkoma. Weber said he spoke with Koch, who asked her to get the report from her assistant, Donald Tesoriero. Weber, Koch and Tesoriero met and chose to notify the Town of Huntington and let the town decide what to do, Weber said. The part of Cow Harbor Park where the study was done was leased from the Town of Huntington to Northport Village.

Weber said he was "comfortable" the process was moving forward.

"I knew this was a boring and not an analysis, so we didn’t know exactly what was in the soil," Weber said. "At that point, I think I was pretty comfortable saying at some point, we’re going to have to analyze the soil. We knew we had to do that, though. It would be in the best interest of residents to analyze the soil."

Pucillo, who has been in law enforcement for years, said government officials are required to notify the DEC if they find a potential spill or hazardous materials in the soil or surface.

"I felt the village had failed to do that," Pucillo said. "The village had failed for whatever reason. I don’t know what their reason is. By having this report and failing to notify the DEC, they violated the nondisclosure rules of DEC for any type of thing like this. As government officials, we’re certainly responsible for the safety, health and welfare of people."

State law dictates that all petroleum spills must be reported within two hours of discovery, unless the spill is less than five gallons; it's contained; it has and will not reach water or land; AND the spill is cleaned up within two hours of discovery.

The DEC did not respond to a request for comment on whether any violations were made by Northport Village.

Pucillo said the petrochemical odor found five feet below the surface at Cow Harbor Park led him to believe oil leaked into the subsurface soil.

"Either it had just begun or it had been leaking for a period of time," he said. "That immediately requires, by the rules and regulations of the DEC, immediate notification."

Pucillo said he called the DEC within 24 hours of receiving the boring report and sent a photo of the former LILCO power plant. He said he has "no qualms" about his decision, as it's now in the DEC's hands.

"We’ll get a determination on if the site is safe and if we can begin construction of the basketball court, if that’s going to move forward," Pucillo said.

Sabia said he has owned two gas stations before and knows "what petrochemical smell means."

"It’s possible, I don’t know this, because I’m not an engineer and I’m not a scientist, it’s possible that being on an old LILCO power plant that the soil is contaminated," Sabia said. "Possibly. There might be buried concrete, brick, rock and everything beneath that ground."

Pucillo's decision to notify the DEC was discussed at a village trustees meeting on Nov. 8.

Koch, at the meeting, called the events "troubling to say the least."

"I want to assure the public that Cow Harbor Park is safe," she said. "Not a listed superfund and not a public health risk."

Pucillo countered that no one can say Cow Harbor Park is safe besides the DEC.

Weber said the petrochemical smell "absolutely" must be investigated before any part of Cow Harbor Park is potentially dug up.

"I’m comfortable knowing that an engineer and the EPA have said that anything below 6-and-a-half inches does not pose a human health hazard," Weber said. "I’ve heard that myself. I’ve read that. I’m comfortable knowing it was at five feet. This doesn’t warrant an emergency right this minute, but yes, we do need to find out what that’s about. And we need to do it quickly."

Radman said if the DEC and EPA deem that the project would be unsafe, then "mitigating the health of the park should be the highest priority."

"We maintain faith in the board members that we have come to know through working with them in this project, and we believe they are the highest quality people who have families themselves and use the park all the time and would certainly also put safety as the number one priority," Radman said. "So we are staying positive and keeping the highest hopes that the further testing demonstrates unequivocally the park is healthy and a great place for all to enjoy."

Sabia said he wants to protect the people who walk in Cow Harbor Park. He said he thinks it is "probably" safe if the land remains untouched, though he added he is "not an engineer or scientist."

"But if we have to dig down five feet, put drainage in and start digging up the blacktop, then we might open up a can of worms," Sabia said. "Then it’s potentially dangerous to our constituents and our workers. That’s my main concern. If there’s nothing there, there’s nothing there. Let’s move on."

Koch, at the board meeting, said actions taken by Sabia and Pucillo were "nothing short of a coup d'é·tat" against the village. She said on or about Oct. 24, after a meeting, Sabia and Weber were "down in Cow Harbor Park, a clear violation" of the village's open meetings law.

"Trustee Pucillo took it upon himself to notify the New York State DEC and EPA, bypassing the official governing procedures of our village," Koch said at the meeting. "This action is a serious breach of our established protocol and undermines the effectiveness of our leadership team."

Koch said Pucillo did not reach out to her for a special emergency meeting.

"Instead, Trustee Pucillo took away my rights as well as other members’ of this board, all elected officials, from having any say in the matter," Koch said. "Now, we will wait to hear from the DEC before any testing will or should be done."

Pucillo called it "reprehensible" that the boring study was held on file and not reported to trustees.

"I took legal action that I was required to do, because the mayor failed to do so," Pucillo said at the meeting. "It is also wrong for members of this board to tell you the site is safe when they have no knowledge or experience in this type of industrial dumping, including me. This is about the health and safety of all the people who use Cow Harbor Park. We have to hope and pray the DEC’s findings indicate no hazardous materials exist."

Weber, at the meeting, said the "whole tone" of the village board and reaction to the audience and residents was "really disheartening."

Sabia was removed as deputy mayor at the meeting in favor of Dolan.

"This decision has been made due to his recent open meeting law violation in Cow Harbor Park and serious accusations of wrongdoing by village officials and employees," Koch said at the meeting. "It is imperative that all officials adhere to the highest standards of conduct and performance. Regrettably, Trustee Sabia’s actions have fallen short of those expectations."

Sabia said the removal doesn't make him look bad. He said he feels "relieved," and that he should have relinquished the deputy mayorship "a long time ago."

"I stand my ground and I want to protect the village people, number one," Sabia said. "Number two, is because I don’t want to bend to [Koch's] way of thinking. I have a right and I have a vote. I’m here to protect the people and I’m here to protect their money."

Sabia told Patch that Koch saying he violated the village's open meeting law is "absolute bull---, and you can quote my words."

Sabia said he went to the park that night when he saw Pucillo, not knowing he would be there. Sabia saw what he thought was sludge in the water. He said he called Roland Buzard, the village's head administrator, but he did not answer. Sabia said he got nervous it was a problem with the sewage plant and called Weber, who "knows, eats and breathes the water."

Weber gave his opinion that the "sludge" was pollen, which Sabia said was a relief. He said Pucillo saw the two and walked over.

"We said a couple of words to each other, Dave got in the cart, took off, and I left on my merry way and left Ernie standing there taking pictures of the park," Sabia said. "An illegal meeting? No. [Koch's] dead wrong."

Pucillo said the LILCO power plant was decommissioned in 1969 — a year before the NYSDEC was established as a result of the Love Canal disaster. In the late 1950s, about 100 homes and a school were built at the site of the former Hooker Chemical Company, according to the EPA. People were stricken with cancers as a result of the toxic materials being found in the milk of nursing mothers.

"I’m looking at Northport as this fits right into the time of the [power plant] decommissioning, and there were no regulations by DEC on how to protect it," Pucillo said.

Koch, at the meeting, said the Village of Northport submitted a FOIL to the New York State DEC and EPA, as well as the Town of Huntington, to determine whether or not Pucillo turned over all correspondence he had with the state agencies to the village. If it is determined he did not, Koch said she would seek his resignation as a trustee. Pucillo said he made a phone call to the DEC and wrote a formal letter, and that he turned it over to the village.

"Going forward, I expect Trustee Pucillo to follow the proper protocol when seeking information or addressing issues within the village administration," Koch said at the meeting.

Pucillo said he cannot be removed over his correspondence with the DEC. He said removing Sabia as deputy mayor was "not a proper act" by Koch.

"I think that’s a mistake that the state made to allow mayors to utilize the deputy mayor’s position to coerce individuals to vote the way the mayor wants them to," Pucillo said. "Joe Sabia is an elected official as well. He has a responsibility to residents, not to maintain a title that’s given to him. He took the right action."

He said he would not resign over his decision, either.

"I need the residents to understand that I did this to protect the village and to protect them," Pucillo said. "My resigning, I think, would send certainly the wrong message to the residents of the village. I think that would be even a worse statement than anything I can do here."

The basketball court itself has been a topic of debate within the village ever since the 1995 Northport basketball team pitched it.

The current court has "been home to generations" of kids playing basketball next to the harbor on the Long Island Sound, the team wrote on its GoFundMe page. The team wrote that a new, top-quality court will "promote a love for the game" for the kids of Northport.

The team's vision includes two new commercial-grade tempered glass backboards, state-of-the-art rims and poles, a completely refinished and repainted surface, court markings, and new benches.

The current plan expands the footprint of the court to about half the size of a high school court, which is 22 percent larger than its current size, according to the team.

Weber said he was "onboard" with the team in the beginning and hasn't "really wavered."

"They came into our town and had a good hometown feel, the story did, the way it came about," he said. "They raised money in their hometown."

The court would be dedicated to John Kennedy, a lifelong resident of Northport Village and East Northport who was a charitable father of four.

"I’m supportive of the court itself, absolutely," Weber said. "I’m supportive of the story. I think it fits with the character of Northport."

Weber said he believes the court cannot go forward unless the project remains privately funded, though.

"This project, we do not want it to cost the taxpayers," he said. "There’s a difference in an agreement as what that means."

Weber said his interpretation is that the basketball team must cover the cost of the materials, including the fencing, landscaping and backboards, or the project will not happen. While taxpayers foot the bill for maintenance work around the village in general, Weber said that's business.

"There’s been talk of removing the basketball court asphalt, disposing, grading out the area, I guess," he said. "If we use our labor, is that costing taxpayer dollars? I guess technically it is, but it’s not, because that’s the cost of doing business. We’re beautifying Cow Harbor Park for the benefit of all the residents. It just depends on how you look at that question. Some people consider the labor as part of the cost and coming out of taxpayer dollars, and it is, technically. Material-wise, there won’t be any cost to the village. Maybe that’s the way we should have done it. There’s a lot of miscommunication about this project."

Weber said he would vote against the court if the 1995 team does not present the funding for the court's materials and installation.

"If it’s a matter of not having the funds, potentially let's scale down the project?" he said. "Like I said all along, if we don’t have the funds, we can’t move forward."

Koch said the village is waiting for responses from New York state, private contributors and municipal partners, so addressing the total funding of the court would currently be "premature."

"In so far as the long term goals of the Village, it is my hope that we are able to fashion a resolution that will allow us to embrace the triumphs of the 1995 basketball Team, acknowledge the good works of private and governmental partnerships, free of the voices of undisclosed negativity and provide a venue where the children of Northport Village may simply play basketball in our otherwise beautiful Village," Koch said.

The team is working on a new plan and anticipates shaving $10K off its initial $346K budget, Radman said.

Radman said the court currently at Cow Harbor Park is "clearly dilapidated" and was going to need "substantial" village funding soon to make it "just merely safe for any kid to play on." The court, he said, has large cracks from tree roots, and the surrounding green space has drainage issues that have caused a mud pit under the bench.

Because of the cracks, Radman said, renovating the court to remain the same size would still require a demolition and relaying of asphalt. The cost difference between a "same size" vs. "compromise size" expansion is "negligible," he said, as the only difference would be a few more feet of concrete poured.

Sabia said residents who donated to the court told him they believed the money would be used to refurbish the court that was there, not make it bigger, and they were "very disappointed" to find out what was going on.

"There’s a lot of controversy over a stupid basketball court," Sabia said. "It’s crazy. You have the basketball courts at the schools. You can refurbish that one as is without touching the ground. New hoops, freshen the place up, clean the place up and leave it alone. This is where we stand. There’s a battle brewing for no reason. We have to go forward. We have too much work in the village that has to get done."

Pucillo said people's vision have been "clouded" by the basketball court when the more important topic is the health and safety of people who use Cow Harbor Park.

"This isn’t a fight over basketball courts," he said. "This is a fight to ensure that a potentially dangerous site is remediated."

Pucillo said people have asked why Cow Harbor Park was not closed or why was action not taken. Pucillo said the park was open for years and the DEC does not "see any necessity to close it."

"If they did, they would close it. It’s in their hands now," he said. "There’s been no reports of sickness or illness or cancers that we can attribute at this point in time to possible substances that are buried in that area. Closing the park is not the way to proceed to make people realize that this is a danger. We need to find out if there is a danger and proceed from there. I think that’s led people to believe this is just a political issue, and it certainly isn’t."

Weber said there has been a lot of back-and-forth and has "potentially been handled wrong."

"I don’t think there’s been misinformation handed out," he said. "Maybe the information has been misinterpreted."

Weber suggested a public meeting where the court is the only item discussed, as he said he would have liked to seen better communication with residents. He proposed laying all the documents out in public.

"At this point, I know there’s been opposition about trees, opposition about court size, and opposition about moving forward because of the money," he said.

The basketball team, in an update on its fundraiser, noted opposition to the court because several trees would have to be cut down.

"However, the landscape designers have confirmed the same trees have to be cut down even if the court was refurbished to be the same size," the team wrote.

Radman said some people were against the team's initial plan, so the team pitched a compromise to the village board.

The new plan would see the court built just a few feet larger than the current court and would be "wholly focused" around the three-point shot, which is about a 20-foot radius around the basket.

"Our whole motivation for starting this project was to ensure that kids in Northport had access to the same basketball experience playing at that location that we loved so much when we were kids growing up there," Radman said. "Of course the three-point line being the important modern nuance that we did not need to consider when we were playing in 1995 as it was not an important part of the game then."

Radman said people would be "hard-pressed" to find five people who spent more time in Cow Harbor Park than him and his friends.

"We were literally there everyday of our youth, for hours. In the winters we would bring a broom down and brush the snow off the court to continue playing. We loved everything about playing down there, down to crossing the street to get a Snapple, slice of pizza, ice cream, Five and Dime Sweets candy, etc. We are going back to the days of Phase II Pizza (they had video games!)."

The team focused on beautifying the park, so it consulted with the Northport Native Garden Initiative, according to Radman.

"So we're still a bit flabbergasted as to why there's opposition, and we really think it's due to lack of understanding on the scope," Radman said. "I hope any article written about this project going forth focuses on clarifying what the project really is while of course being mindful of ongoing concerns such as the condition of the soil and anything else that may come up."

The beautification elements hinge on the team asking the Town of Huntington Environmental Open Space & Park Fund Advisory Committee (EOSPA) for funding.

"Again we can't understand why anyone would be against improving the beautification, ecological value, and health of the harbor by including these elements that seemed like no-brainer additions to any project to that park," Radman said. "But people were there showing a divided Northport to this EOSPA, and even though we received five out of seven votes at the EOSPA meeting on Sept. 14, we were shy one EOSPA committee member vote of a quorum for the funds."

The team now awaits the results of the soil test and then plans to ask the EOSPA for funds for the beautification elements.

"We are still fully committed to finish the project," Radman said.