While planning decisions, including sites for scarce housing, continue to be made piecemeal in “the Hamptons,” just to the west in Brookhaven town major infrastructure is in play. This week’s update on the opening of a new Long Island Rail Road station near the Long Island Expressway in what some call East Yaphank is a reminder of what can move the development needle. The station will replace a barely used and obscure depot a few miles away, and be more convenient to the Brookhaven National Laboratory, a major employment and visitor center. The linked article from Newsday doesn’t also mention the proximity to the retail and residential hub that’s been erected nearby after years of controversy over affected woodlands. Meanwhile, further west, in the town of Islip, maneuvering continues to try to link the LIRR station at Ronkonkoma to MacArthur Airport, Suffolk County’s only airline flight hub. This could be part of a sizable residential and commercial complex. Though that part is more controversial, the groundwork for more intensive land use clearly would be laid. Even as the LIRR’s direct links to the most prized places on the East End are underused, the carrier’s connections “up island” remain strong and will have ancillary effects, fostering a bigger nearby presence that can bleed over. Eastern Long Island remains a highly desired location, with accommodation to change ever knocking at the Hamptons’ golden door. –April 5, 2025
https://www.newsday.com/long-island/towns/yaphank-lirr-station-groundbreaking-wnyzwdpk
Tim W. Ferguson 