A plan to sell and develop a
Medford property that once was eyed for a video lottery casino is facing
opposition once again by residents.
Residents say Suffolk County OTB
plans to sell the 30-acre vacant property located east of Route 112
along the Long Island Expressway service road to New Jersey developer -Lincoln
Equities Group.
Neighbors say the proposed plans include
building a 390,000-square-foot distribution center on that site.
This mean means knocking down over
200 feet of a wooded area - leaving a 75-foot buffer between the building
and residents homes.
Residents say it will cause truck
noises and emissions in their backyards at all hours of the day.
Residents want the developer to
keep the wooded area and decrease the size of the warehouse
“The town seems to be OK
with them moving ahead with the plans, but again they requested that the wooded
buffer be lef. But again, the representatives for the owners of the
property seem to be adamant against it because they just are worried about the
bottom line for the corporation,” says Leonard Decostanzo, of Medford.
The vacant property faced many
failed proposals through the years - including the most recent that
sparked OTB to build Jake's 58 casino in Islandia.
Another meeting is scheduled
for next month, the residents say.