All Good Things Must Come To An End: New Development On Shaky Ground

The “hometown” appeal of once “countryesque” Long Island seems to be coming to a quick halt. In fact, I was just recently in Bay Shore, quite the quaint little town, but with a Main Street, that outside of a few whimsical and eclectic little shops is fairly “barren”, and in certain sections “run down”. And, a similar scenario seems to hold true for much of Long Island.

Still, the good news is that some are making serious strides in trying to bring Long Island back, albeit in a more updated look than most of us “town folk” are use to, more Rodeo Drive than “Green Acres”. By the way, have you caught a glimpse at the renovated Friday’s?

And, part of that “good news” is that these renovations are bringing new life and luxury to “old” neighborhoods. Among these: the area known as New Castle.

But, the bad news is that the key construction estimated at $60 million has been brought to an indefinite abrupt halt due to tests that suggest the soil under the foundation is unstable.

According to officials, the work has been postponed until a plan to institute workable soil is effectively in place.

The tests had been mandated after reports of complaints by the contractor implicating that the developer was taking short cuts, especially in regard to the restoration of the foundation, which was noted as being overexcavated.

Then, back in July, the town issued a stop-work order and upon investigation found that double the soil necessary has been removed from the site. But, work (on the project) once again began back in august upon further investigation, which deemed (at the time) that the soil was stable.

However, just recently more surveys showed that there were concerns about the stability of the soil and revealed otherwise loose, compact soil, implicating that it was not subject to exacting compaction or densification.

But, the developer and the company’s attorney express skepticism about the reports findings. And, they go on to point out some previous discrepancies and “unanswered” concerns and questions, citing favoritism toward (certain) developers by department inspectors.

And, now all involved are looking into possible fixes for the “problem”, allowing for construction to once get underway.