Calone Clarifies County Position On Tuckahoe Center

Former Suffolk County Planning Commission Chairman Dave Calone this week clarified the commission’s recent rejection of the Tuckahoe Center project, forcing the proposal to require a supermajority from the Southampton Town Board to move forward.

Last week, Mr. Calone, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 1st Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives currently held by Lee Zeldin—and facing off against Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst for the nomination—said that even with a report by the Suffolk County Highway Department saying that traffic will not be an issue, there are still concerns about what effect a project of this scale would have on local roadways.

According to Mr. Calone, the potential traffic ramifications would not be felt just in the immediate vicinity of the supermarket on County Road 39, but also in Southampton Village and farther east, noting that cars would have to travel through the traffic to get to East Hampton and beyond.

“The commission determined that it had concerns regarding the project with regard to the cumulative traffic impact on the regional transportation artery,” he said in a phone interview. “We were concerned about the impacts on the Village of Southampton and the other municipalities farther east as well.”

The Tuckahoe Center proposal is for a 40,000-square-foot supermarket and retail complex along County Road 39 on Magee Street in Tuckahoe. Earlier this month, the Planning Commission voted against the proposal, which means the Southampton Town Board, which is not slated to hear the proposal again until late January or early February, will need a majority-plus-one vote to approve the required change of zone to facilitate the proposal.

In addition to the construction of a 40,000-square-foot grocery store, the application calls for 15,000 square feet of small retail stores, a 3,500-square-foot bank and more than 200 parking spaces. The Town Board would have to approve changing the zoning of 7.2 acres of land along the south side of County Road 39 from highway business to shopping center business.

According to Mr. Calone, he was most swayed in his decision to vote against the project by testimony given from representatives from East Hampton and Riverhead, showing, he said, that the resulting traffic would be more than just a Southampton problem.

“While this type of development may be needed in the area, there are other locations that may be more suitable than this location in particular,” Mr. Calone said.