SOURCE:
By Robert Brodsky - April 13, 2024
A Medford-based landscaping company will pay a $100,000 penalty after the company chopped down trees, bulldozed land and excavated soil in the protected Long Island Central Pine Barrens 12 years ago without a permit, State Attorney General Letitia James announced Friday.
The settlement between the attorney general, the Pine Barrens Commission, Affa Organics and its then-owner, Stephen Affatato, resolves litigation regarding restoration of the site, which is located on top of Long Island’s largest source of drinking water.
“Long Island's Pine Barrens are among New York's most precious natural resources, and their protection is paramount to the health of Long Island's drinking water and our shared environment,” James said in a statement. “Stephen Affatato ignored the law and destroyed protected land for his own benefit, and now he must repair the damage and restore the area.”
Shaina Affatato, the daughter of Stephen Affatato, now owns the company. She said her father intended to transition the site from a tree nursery to a working farm where he could teach students about recycling and composting.
“It was just a big misunderstanding between [her father] and the owner of the property,” she said. “She told us we could go on the property and clean up the garbage. But it turned out we were not allowed to do that. We don't own the property yet. We will be owning it soon. But it's been in the process for 12 years.”
In October 2012, Stephen Affatato and his landscaping company failed to seek a waiver from the commission before removing trees, vegetation and natural ground cover while creating huge piles of soil in the pine barrens, prosecutors said.
These violations were observed by Pine Barrens Commission staff on a visit to the property.
Affatato argued unsuccessfully that continuing with preexisting agricultural use was outside the enforcement scope of the 1993 Long Island Pine Barrens Protection Act, court records show.
“One of the most important aspects of our work at the Central Pine Barrens Commission is protecting lands preserved by municipalities with taxpayer dollars so all Suffolk residents as well as visitors can fully appreciate all the region has to offer,” Pine Barrens Commission Executive Director Judith Jakobsen said in a statement.
As part of the agreement, Affatato implemented a complete site restoration plan, including soil excavation, installation of deer fencing, site grading, replanting of native plant species, sediment and erosion control. Shaina Affatato said the work had already been completed at a cost of about $500,000.
“Suffolk County residents paid a significant amount of money to protect the pine barrens to safeguard our drinking water, preserve open space and enhance wildlife habitat,” said Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Farmingdale-based Citizens Campaign for the Environment. “… Destroying these public lands is a repulsive act that demands strong consequences.”
In recent years, illegal dumping in the pine barrens, which spans 105,000 acres in Brookhaven, Riverhead and Southampton towns, has become a chronic problem.
The commission, which coordinates patrols of the mostly wooded area, recorded 127 illegal dumping reports last year, up from 63 in 2022 and 71 in 2021.
In February, a Shirley man was charged with illegally discarding a 24-foot boat in a secluded area of the pine barrens in Manorville.