Area residents offer wish list for possible future development

A bank, supermarket, and improved bus and rail service are some of the things North Bellport residents said they’d like to see added to their community.

The comments came at a meeting on June 14, hosted by the Suffolk County Department of Economic Development and Planning and the Regional Plan Association, seeking input on possible future development to the area surrounding the Bellport Long Island Rail Road station and along Station Road and Montauk Highway.

“Tell us what you want in your neighborhood, because the only thing I’m going to put forward is what you want in your neighborhood,” county Legis. Dominick Thorne told the group of about 25 area residents who attended the meeting at the Bellport Boys and Girls Club.

The community input comes as Suffolk County plans to undertake a study to assess the possibility of installing sewers in the area. A sewer line could open up opportunities for developing the area and bring new businesses to Montauk Highway.

The purpose of the meeting was to solicit input from residents about what kind of development they’d like to see, said Sarah Lansdale, Suffolk County commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Economic Development and Planning.

“We’re building off all the great work that has already been done by the town,” Lansdale said.

Jonathan Keyes, director of downtown and transit-oriented development for the Suffolk County Department of Economic Development and Planning, said the meeting was “overall, a great conversation.”

The Regional Plan Association will review the feedback from the meeting and include it in a report it will submit to the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency. IDA will then share the report with the Economic Development Department and the county’s Department of Public Works, Lansdale said.