Farmingville residents attended a Brookhaven Town Hall meeting Tuesday night to fight a proposal to build a shopping center in their neighborhood.

However, the Brookhaven Town Board voted to approve a rezoning application, which paves the way for a shopping center to be built in that area.

The site is located on the northeast corner of Horseblock Road and North Ocean Avenue. The developer, Northblock Ventures LLC, wants to knock down Sandy's Nursery and bulldoze the woods behind the buildings to make way for stores. Northblock Ventures asked the Town of Brookhaven to rezone the property from residential to business.

Attorneys for the developer say the shopping center would bring jobs and revenue to the local economy. They say there will be retail tenants and that they are hoping to have a bank and a major restaurant in the shopping center.

Many Farmingville residents who live next to the site are furious with the decision. They say construction would destroy the habitat for wild animals in the woods, as well as bring congestion and crime to their neighborhood.

The developer's attorney says the next step is to present a site plan to the board. A date has not been set for that presentation.