Residents in Kings Park expressed relief after plans to build 1,800 housing units on an abandoned site were cancelled.

Cherokee Arker Kings Park development group had been planning on purchasing the 300-acre psychiatric center and converting the property into a residential village. But Senator John Flanagan (R-East Northport) said Saturday that those housing plans are permanently off the table.

Residents say they fear overdevelopment of the land that has been vacant for a decade. Officials say it will cost $53 million just to clean up the contaminants left behind at the psychiatric center. A court will now decide the future of the complex.