Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy Announces Plans for Preservation of Massive Property on North Fork

Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy Announces Plans for Preservation of Massive Property on North Fork

With Resolution of Litigation, More Than 300 Acres North Fork Preserve Set to be Acquired for Open Space

Hauppauge , NY – Suffolk Executive Steve Levy today said the county will immediately begin the appraisal and mapping process for the preservation of more than 300 acres of open space – known as the North Fork Preserve in Riverhead.

The county executive said a lawsuit regarding the property was resolved last week in the appellate division, which allows the county to move forward with the process known as “planning steps.” Two resolutions for planning steps were previously approved by the County Legislature.

The southern 172-acre portion of the property was included by Levy in the county’s third Master List of environmentally sensitive properties in 2006, while the northern parcel was subject to a separate resolution -- but the process was put on hold due to shareholder litigation.

“Now that the litigation is settled, I gave the order to move ahead with the planning steps,” Levy said. “Acquiring this property for preservation would help ensure the rural nature of the county’s North Fork remains for generations to come,” he added. “This is one of the largest remaining parcels targeted for acquisition.”

“We thank County Executive Levy and his staff for their invaluable help in moving this potential acquisition process along,” said Myron Kaplan, one of the preserve owners. “The North Fork Preserve is a unique, beautiful and ecologically vital property which can and will provide recreation and enjoyment to future generations of Suffolk County families.”

Since Levy’s inauguration in 2004, when he revitalized a nearly dormant and scandal-ridden open space program, Suffolk has preserved over 5,500 acres – which is six and one-half times the size of New York’s Central Park – including 64 farms. The program continues to aggressively pursue the purchase of environmentally significant parcels and farmlands.

Upon taking office in 2004, Levy implemented a number of measures to revitalize and reinvigorate the county’s open space and water protection programs, including use of a Master List of properties to speed up the planning and appraisal processes and to take the politics out of land acquisition; streamlining the contract process; increasing the number of attorneys in the Division of Real Estate for closings; implementing a $75 million Save Open Spaces (SOS) Bond Act; and expanding the number of acquisitions done in partnership with other municipalities, environmental agencies or private land trusts.

In 2006, Levy created a $50 million Environmental Legacy Fund in the county’s capital budget, which is earmarked for acquisitions in which other municipalities or private interests apply matching funds. The Legacy Fund was recognized in 2008 by the National Association of Counties and the National Land Trust with a County Leadership in Conservation Award, and Levy recently received a Leadership Award from the Long Island Farm Bureau.

Levy also led the charge in extending the quarter-cent sales tax through 2030 to be used exclusively for environmental preservation.