For the first time Thursday, New York State Parks Department Commissioner Carol Ash toured the deserted Kings Park Psychiatric Center, property coveted by developers and preservationists alike.

The former psychiatric facility sits atop 330 acres of land that local officials and civic leaders want to remain as parkland. While Ash says she hasn't decided what to do with the land, the Long Island Association, a regional business group, and not local leaders were initially invited to Thursday's tour. In the end, the officials attended and the business group did not.

"That sends a bad message," says state Sen. John Flanagan (R-Smithtown) of the initial invitations. "A message you appear to care more about development than anything else."

Vision Long Island, a group that promotes smart growth, says a mix of retail stores and housing should be considered. Meanwhile, Linda Henninger, of the Kings Park Association, says that "would cripple the community."

Ash hasn't ruled anything out. A study determining how to clean up Kings Park could take between three and nine months, she says.

"We intend to have a very long and civil conversation with all of the parties involved in this," Ash says.