Smithtown Approves Subdivision Development Of 75-Acre Gyrodyne Site

SMITHTOWN, NY — On Wednesday night, the Town of Smithtown planning board voted unanimously to approve the subdivision of the Gyrodyne site in St. James. The owner of the former defense contracting property is seeking to subdivide the 75-acre site into eight lots for offices, a hotel and an assisted living facility.

Some local residents have joined together to oppose the subdivision, citing concerns over traffic, overdevelopment and the character of the Saint James area.

Critics spoke during the Wednesday two-hour virtual meeting, including the chairman of the Village of Head of Harbor's zoning board of appeals, Joe Bolhofer.

Bolhofer mentioned that experts predicted traffic would increase 30 times and "the roads surrounding Gyrodyne...cannot handle commercial traffic" generated by developing the site.

A group that Bolhofer is part of, called Saint James – Head of the Harbor Neighborhood Preservation Coalition, maintains that the development is "too big for Saint James and Head of the Harbor" and "just won’t work on a site with no access to major highways."

The application plans to leave a 200-feet green buffer of vegetation along Route 25A.

Smithtown Town spokesperson Nicole Garguilo told Newsday that the Planning Board is “an autonomous board with a legal responsibility to review the actions and subdivision applications before them as well as the recommendations of the planning department. They have a process to follow, which they did.”