Another Senior Living Center Proposed

A meeting regarding a proposed 136-unit, three-story senior living center in Dix Hills is scheduled for Jan. 26, 7 p.m., at the Dix Hills branch of the Half Hollow Hills Library.

A 136-unit, three-story senior living center has been proposed for the property of Sipala Landscaping Services on the LIE South Service Road near Deer Park Avenue in Dix Hills, according to a local resident.

Sheri Vishnick, a 44-year resident of Dix Hills, said she saw the plan on file with the Town of Huntington’s Planning Department and is one of the organizers of an upcoming community meeting regarding it. The meeting is scheduled for Jan. 26, 7 p.m., at the Dix Hills branch of the Half Hollow Hills Library, as detailed by a digital flyer that is being circulated by the meeting organizers.

“The main reason that I and some of my neighbors object to this is, number one: this is a bucolic community,” Vishnick said. “I’ve been living here for over 44 years. One of the main reasons we moved here was to escape a city atmosphere.”

The project came to light after a controversial proposal to build a Brightview Senior Living center north of the LIE on Deer Park Avenue was denied a necessary zone change. After opposition from local residents heard during public portions of town board meetings, the board did not vote on the zone change before its deadline expired.

Vishnick said she was initially tipped off about the new project by organizers who opposed Brightview. Vishnick said she visited the town’s planning board to confirm the proposal and its details.

She added that the project on the Sipala property would also require a zone change, one from R-40 residential to R-HS. That’s the same type of zone change the applicants for the Brightview project sought.

Also, Vishnick said, plans call for an on-site sewage treatment plant, and variances for the number of units, story limits and setbacks.

Long Islander News submitted to the town a FOIL request for additional information on the project, but there was no response before deadline Wednesday.

Neither the developer of the project, nor the owner of the property, returned calls for comment before deadline.

-TANTONGC