What People Think

"The sod farm is the ideal location for a "village center," and we can already see the Shoreham Christmas tree shining in some future town square."
--Editorial, North Shore Sun, Sept. 23, 2004.

"It's not the top priority for preservation." referring to preservation of a sod farm as pristine
-- Richard Amper, Executive Director of the Long Island Pine Barrens Society Long Island Business News, Sept. 15, 2006

"The PDD, if done right, could give our area a "soul," or center, as well as balance our tax base."
-- Longtime Shoreham resident David Madigan at Sept. 21 Shoreham Civic Organization workshop

"If it comes down to it, a PDD is probably better than 283 McMansions on Tallgrass and the sod farm"
-- Editorial, North Shore Sun, March 2, 2006

"[It would be one of the] most expensive acquisitions ever,"
-- Brookhaven Town Supervisor Brian Foley Long Island Business News, Sept. 15, 2006

"There's a lot more land that we consider much more worthy of preservation,"
--Mary Daum, President, Shoreham Civic Organization. Long Island Business News, Sept. 15, 2006

"It is vital that the community rally around this plan. The developers have worked with the community, listening to our concerns and addressing many of our key issues including changing the housing mix to minimize the number of additional school children that would be added to the district and offering to help improve our school facilities. If we will lose this opportunity due to a moratorium our schools will suffer and the PDD will be withdrawn allowing construction of 283 single family homes and the devastating financial impact this would have on the school district and the Shoreham taxpayer."
--Gene Dicks

"If you want to do anything, you have to get in your car. The developer for the first time has offered to build us a living room and a dining room along with our bedrooms."
--Gene Dicks, North Shore Sun, Oct. 20, 2006

"I've lived here for 35 years and I have seen a lot of changes in Shoreham," she said. "It's time we had a community center."
--Carol Kramer, North Shore Sun, Oct. 13, 2006

"I think workforce housing brings diversity to a district and I see this as an opportunity for the community to work together," she said.
--Patricia Bartik, North Shore Sun, Oct. 13, 2006

"Those developments with five-bedroom McMansions rising one after another on cul-de-sacs evoked a strong negative reaction from me. I don't know about you, but I would be very happy never having to see another one built. Unfortunately, I live on the North Shore, and most of the new projects around us feature these soulless structures rising on farmland lost to development. If you live in one of these places, you can't walk anywhere. You have to get in your car and drive -- even for a quart of milk.

What caught my fancy were homes built around green space. Places with lots of walking trails and bike trails. Communities with nice sidewalks and landscaping. Developments with a mixed use of housing -- not just single-family homes, but also buildings on Main Streets with apartments above stores. Houses close to the street, with front porches"
--Drew Crouthamel, Column, North Shore Sun, July 21, 2006

"We've seen a lot of change in 30 years. When I came here, William Floyd was the demarcation line, and all the development was happening to the west. But everything east was pristine, beautiful farms. It's not that way any more... People who have been living here for a long time are saying, 'What do we want? A place where they will be able to walk around and have some nice places to shop. There are no sidewalks in Shoreham."
--Mary Daum, President of Shoreham Civic Organization in Newsday, Jan. 2, 2007

"The possibilities here are fantastic. The community needs to look beyond the NIMBY attitude."
--Kevin Wood, Shoreham resident, Village Beacon Record July 27, 2006

"Our hope now is that our neighbors and the politicians who represent us realize that this is the best alternative for the sod farm and the golf course that has been offered to date and that the developers are willing to listen."
--Gene Dicks, Citizens for a Planned Shoreham Press Release, Oct. 9, 2006

"Many of us have deep roots in Shoreham, going back 20, 30 years or more, and we believe that the Planned Development District will benefit both the community and the Shoreham Wading River School District,"
--Gene Dicks, Citizens for a Planned Shoreham Press Release, Sept. 27, 2006

"We spent three years in the community and we’ve done everything one could possibly imagine to try to address community concerns"
--Larry Feldman, Partner, Farrell Fritz., Long Island Business News, Sept. 15, 2006