Updated: Dozens of Avalon Bay Protesters Rally at Town Hall

Although the Huntington Town Board tabled a proposed resolution to re-zone a 26-acre parcel in Huntington Station on which Avalon Bay hopes to build a 490-unit housing development, dozens of opponents carried out a rally in front of Town Hall Tuesday evening in protest anyway.

At its May meeting, the board had extended the period in which they would consider the zone change from residential to a newly created Huntington Station Transit-Oriented District for the property located on the north side of East Fifth Street. 

Given the extension, many residents said they were surprised to find out that the resolution was on the agenda for the board's Tuesday, June 15 meeting.

A flurry of e-mails was sent around announcing the protest rally. It was also posted on the Facebook pages of  several groups including Parents of Huntington.

They read, in part, "They were hoping to push this through while the public was not paying attention, as we expected the vote to take place in September.  A recent e-mail that was circulated by supporters of Avalon, who do not live in the surrounding area, stated that residents were beginning to speak out against Avalon and therefore it was important for the town board to push through this down zoning quickly.  Mark Mayoka was not even aware that this was going to take place this Tuesday.  Susan Berland claimed that she didn't remember voting to delay the decision of down zoning until September. She said this while she was laughing.  Of all the underhanded corrupt ways this current administration has damaged the quality of life in the Huntington/ Huntington Station area, this could potentially have the most adverse effect on our quality of life."

When the town got word of the protest, they removed the resolution from the final agenda.

Spokesman AJ Carter said that the town never expected to wait until the 90-day extension period was up.

"Under the town code, once the board holds a public hearing on the measure, it has 90 days to act on the proposal. It was clear by the May 17 meeting that the town had not had the opportunity to fully review and assess the comments made at the March 9 public hearing, and to work with Avalon Bay on addressing many of the concerns that were raised at the hearing," Carter said.

He said that the board expected to be ready to vote sometime, any time, within that 90-day extension.

"It was envisioned that the review would be completed some time before the second 90 days elapsed," he said.

The protestors say they feel the board was trying to pull a fast one and approve the resolution while no one was expecting it.

"Once again, Frank Petrone, Susan Berland, Mark Cuthbertson and Glenda Jackson set us up in an underhanded turn of events. They are trying to push through the largest down-zoning in the history of the town of Huntington before the public can be made aware of it.

Although the board removed the resolution, the protestors said they would still hold the rally to convey two messages. First, that they want the rezoning vote to be placed on the September agenda rather than the July 6 meeting agenda on which it is expected to appear.  Second, that "the residents of Huntington will no longer tolerate the underhanded methods of this current administration."

During the public portion of the board meeting, the protestors and more opponents spoke out against the proposal.

More text and video to come.