First Meeting On West Islip Masera Sale To Take Place Wednesday

WEST ISLIP, NY -- The first of three public meetings scheduled for this month to discuss the recent sale of the Masera property will take place on Wednesday night. Last month, the West Islip School District announced that officials reached an agreement with Terwilliger & Bartone Properties LLC for the 11-acre property located on Udall Road for over $8.5 million. The property was originally home to Paumanok Elementary School, which opened in 1955 but closed down in 1992. The space was then rented by Eastern Suffolk BOCES from 2000 until 2019. However for the past year, the space has remained vacant.

According to school officials, due to the age and condition of the school and the likelihood of successfully leasing a third district property, the district agreed to sell the building to the developer, who is planning on constructing a senior housing for residents 55 and older. According to school officials, West Islip is the only hamlet in the Town of Islip that does not have condos or rental options for seniors.

In order for the sale to be finalized, it will require approval from the community, so the district has scheduled several public forums to provide voters with the opportunity to discuss the Masera property sale. The first public forum will take place Wednesday starting at 7 p.m. at Beach Street Middle School. In addition, two more hearings will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 13, and Thursday, Oct. 22. After the hearings, registered voters will cast their ballots on the proposal in January 2021.

School officials say, the developer has agreed to make a charitable contribution in the amount of $1 million to the district at closing. Some of that money will be used for replacing and/or improving the district’s fields and the rest will be retained in a Reserve for Tax Reduction. Money from this reserve is to be appropriated annually up to 10 years to offset the tax levy. Officials say that once sold, the property will also begin to generate tax revenue to the district, subject to IDA tax abatements for 10 years.