10/02/2026
Following is the letter sent to the TOI from the Bohemia Civic Association
Dear Supervisor Carpenter, Members of the Islip Town Board, Planning Board, and Planning & Development/Zoning Officials:
On September 21, 2026, the Bohemia Civic Association held a community meeting attended by residents from Bohemia and surrounding communities. One of the issues generating significant discussion and concern was the proposed Amazon fulfillment/distribution facility in Holbrook.
Our members specifically asked the Bohemia Civic Association to communicate their concerns to the Town of Islip and to formally express opposition to this project as currently proposed.
We understand the proposal involves an approximately 4.2-million-square-foot facility on roughly 140 acres near Sunrise Highway and Beacon Drive. A development of this magnitude would represent a substantial and potentially permanent change to this area of the Town of Islip. While economic development and employment opportunities are important, they must be balanced against the long-term effects on existing communities, infrastructure, the environment, and quality of life.
Our concerns include:
1. Extraordinary Size and Intensity of the Proposed Use
A 4.2-million-square-foot fulfillment and distribution complex is not an ordinary warehouse development. The sheer scale of this project warrants careful consideration of whether this location can reasonably accommodate an operation of this intensity without adversely affecting nearby communities.
2. Traffic and Truck Congestion
Residents are particularly concerned about the number of tractor-trailers, delivery vehicles, employee vehicles, and other commercial traffic that could be generated by a facility of this size. Sunrise Highway and surrounding local roads already experience significant congestion. The Town should require a comprehensive and independent traffic analysis examining not simply the immediate intersections surrounding the property, but the cumulative effects on Holbrook, Bohemia, Sayville, Ronkonkoma and surrounding communities.
The analysis should also address truck routes, peak-hour operations, accidents, emergency-response access, road deterioration and the possibility of commercial vehicles diverting onto residential streets.
3. Environmental Impact and Loss of Wooded Land
The proposed site consists of approximately 140 acres, much of it currently wooded. Clearing and developing a property of this magnitude raises serious questions concerning stormwater runoff, groundwater, wildlife habitat, tree removal, air quality, heat-island effects and impacts upon surrounding watersheds.
We strongly believe these issues require the highest level of scrutiny under SEQRA and that cumulative environmental impacts should be evaluated rather than examining individual impacts in isolation.
4. Stormwater, Groundwater and Watershed Concerns
Long Island depends upon its sole-source aquifer for drinking water. Replacing a substantial amount of wooded and permeable land with buildings, pavement, parking areas and truck-loading facilities makes stormwater management and groundwater protection particularly important.
The Town should require detailed hydrological and drainage studies addressing both current conditions and increasingly severe rainfall events. Any potential impact on the San Souci watershed and downstream waterways should also be thoroughly examined.
5. Noise, Lighting and 24-Hour Operations
Large fulfillment centers can operate around the clock. Truck movements, backup alarms, loading docks, mechanical equipment and extensive exterior lighting have the potential to affect nearby residential neighborhoods well beyond normal business hours.
Before considering approval, the Town should require detailed information regarding proposed hours of operation, truck schedules, lighting, noise mitigation and enforceable restrictions protecting surrounding residents.
6. Public Safety and Emergency Services
A facility of this size could create additional demands on local fire departments, ambulance services, police, emergency management and surrounding road infrastructure. The Town should obtain input directly from the affected emergency-service providers regarding response times, equipment requirements, access and the potential financial impact on those agencies.
7. Cumulative Development
This project should not be evaluated in a vacuum. Residents throughout the Town of Islip are experiencing significant development and increased traffic. SEQRA review should consider the cumulative effect of this project together with existing and reasonably foreseeable development in the surrounding area.
8. Zoning and Community Planning
If the proposed use requires a zoning change or other significant land-use approvals, the question should not simply be whether the applicant can mitigate individual impacts. The more fundamental question is whether an industrial/distribution development of this unprecedented scale is appropriate for this particular location and compatible with the Town's long-term planning goals.
A zoning change should not be granted merely because a project can potentially satisfy technical conditions. Zoning decisions should protect the overall character, infrastructure and long-term interests of the community.
9. Economic Benefits Must Be Independently Evaluated
We recognize that Amazon has cited employment and economic investment associated with the project. Those benefits should be weighed against the public costs associated with additional traffic, road maintenance, infrastructure, emergency services and environmental mitigation.
If any PILOT agreement, tax abatement, subsidy or other public financial incentive is contemplated, residents deserve a complete public accounting of the projected costs and benefits before any decision is made.
10. Need for Transparency and Meaningful Public Participation
Because of the extraordinary size and regional impact of this proposal, residents must have meaningful opportunities to review the complete application, environmental studies, traffic studies, engineering reports and proposed mitigation measures well before any final decision.
Public hearings should occur at times and locations capable of accommodating substantial community participation, and documents should be made readily available online.
The Bohemia Civic Association respectfully requests that the Town of Islip carefully consider these concerns and not approve the project as presently proposed unless and until the applicant can demonstrate, through independent and comprehensive analysis, that a development of this magnitude will not create significant adverse impacts that cannot be adequately mitigated.
Based upon the information currently available and the concerns expressed by our members, the Bohemia Civic Association is opposed to the proposed Amazon facility in its current form.
We further request that this correspondence be made part of the official record associated with the application and distributed to the Town Board, Planning Board, Planning Department and any other Town agency participating in the review.
We appreciate the Town's consideration and respectfully ask that the community be kept fully informed as this application proceeds through the review process.
Sincerely,
Bohemia Civic Association
Bohemia, New York
