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A day after residents overwhelmingly approved a sewer district for the Mastic-Shirley area, Suffolk Legis. Rudy Sunderman has requested county executive Steve Bellone’s help to explore the expansion of the sewer line into the Mastic Beach business district.
“The approval of this referendum creates opportunities from which we cannot stray, the time is now to take advantage of these circumstances,” Sunderman wrote in a letter to Bellone. “One option which is now before us is the expansion of the sewer lines into the commercial districts of Mastic Beach. If we utilize this opportunity correctly we can extend the sewer line down Mastic Road and into the Mastic Beach business corridor, from St. Jude Roman Catholic Church to the East and William Floyd Parkway to the West.”
Sunderman requested that the Bellone’s wastewater and the county’s Department of Public Works explore the expansion to the business district as part of the phase 1 and 2 construction.
Peter Scully, a deputy county executive for Bellone, said the county executive’s office has received “many” requests and suggestions for the funding that was allotted for the Greater River project.
“We will consult with the governor’s office for storm recovery … and we’ll have a better idea of whether we can repurpose the funding, and, if so, how. There are a lot of real, legitimate needs throughout the county for sewers, and for that reason the county is receiving a lot of inquiries.”
Scully added, “We’re hopeful regardless of the source of funding that we will be able to continue to expand sewer infrastructure on the Mastic-Shirley peninsula. And the extension of the of a sewer main to Neighborhood Road has been a longtime goal.”
Councilman Dan Panico, who represents the area, said, “We strongly support the extension of the sewer district into Mastic Beach and Neighborhood Road. In many ways, it would be a lifeline for the community in terms of a revitalization of the Mastic Beach business district.”
Officials are now seeking $500 million in funds to expand the sewer district south to Mastic Beach and parts of Shirley.
