Hundreds Of Islip Residents Protest Proposed Slaughterhouse

ISLIP, NY - Over 300 residents expressed their concerns during a town board hearing on Oct. 23 after a proposal to build a poultry slaughterhouse in Islip was submitted.

After the application for a change of zone to allow for a slaughterhouse on Beaver Dam Road was posted on the hearing agenda, locals banded together through a Facebook group started by resident Carleen Newland to protest. The group, Islip Residents Against Slaughter House, now has 601 members.

One fear shared by several residents is that local property values would decrease.

Another resident Marianne Mcdevitt, who helped start a petition against the proposal which now has over 800 signatures, is worried the slaughterhouse would attract even more rats, which is already an issue due to the cookie factory nearby.

Area where the proposed slaughterhouse is expected to be built.

“Once they bring chickens in, there are going to be rats in everybody’s backyard,” she said.

The zoning board asked the applicant, Joseph Rosario, to provide the traffic plans and other necessary paperwork for his business. Until he submits the proper forms, the application remains pending.

According to Mcdevitt, the applicant applied for a 30- day extension to submit his paperwork, but the board denied it. He now has until Dec. 26.

According to Rosario’s attorney, Eugene Barnosky with Lamb and Barnosky, the zoning board also requested he submit a written response to the resident’s concerns which he plans on submitting that same day.

Senator Phil Boyle said that since the hearing about 15 to 20 residents and animal welfare advocates have contacted his office to express their concern regarding the proposal.

John DiLeonardo, president of LI Orchestrating for Nature, said if the slaughterhouse goes up it would have a negative impact on the local environment by polluting the water and increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

“Meat processing plants are always devasting to local communities," he said.

However, not everyone thinks slaughterhouses are bad. Todd Wells, owner of Wells Farms which contains a slaughter facility in Riverhead, says the business could be good for the local community.

“The one nice thing about having a slaughterhouse is that the individual can tell the butcher how they want their meat processed and they can ask the butcher questions about where the animal comes from, how they were raised versus going to a grocery store and buying meat off a shelf that nobody has any idea how they were raised," he said.

Patch photos