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West Islip community forms "Save LaGrange" Task Force
"This is a premier piece of ground in that hamlet and the public has a strong sense of its historical importance," said S.C. Leg. Tom Barraga who started the task force and remains a member. Joe DiCarlo, the chairman of the task force, said that the community has a unique opportunity to create something in that area that is unique and different. "On the North Shore, many of the villages have done non traditional things to keep the countrified look of their communities," said DiCarlo. "With the Babylon dealership property west of LaGrange available, maybe someone can work with the owners to come up with something unique to tie these pieces together." Barraga said the task force, made up of a cross section of the community, understands that the site is privately owned and that the owners have rights and need to make a profit on their investment. But, he said, they also need to recognize the importance of that property to the public. "We are willing to work with them to put up something other than a pharmacy," said Barraga. "We are looking to work with the owner and generate ideas," said Lynn Luttenberger, the task force vice chair. Almost two months ago, the Walgreen's company outlined its controversial proposal at a meeting at the West Islip Library. More than 300 people attended, and almost all of them vehemently opposed the plan, which also calls for Walgreens to invest $1.5 million to restore the LaGrange Inn building to its original size and condition. A Walgreen's spokesperson said that the company is moving forward and is reaching out to the community on its own to garner support. "We are aware of concerns about plans for a Walgreens. No decision has been made, and we are reviewing the issues, as well as our options," said Carol Hively, a Walgreens corporate spokeswoman. Walgreen's will need a zoning change from the Town of Islip for a portion of the site on the northern end of the property, which is zoned residential. That is something that the community said it would fight. Working on behalf of the company locally is attorney Lisa Pace who said that her office has sent out more than 9,000 post cards to residents asking them to call her with their concerns. She added that Walgreen's does understand the importance of the site to the community, and that is why it is willing to make a significant investment to restore the building and have it placed on the historical registry. "How he (Leg. Barraga), can speak about this proj- ect is beyond me because he has never spoken to me or to any member of the Walgreen's staff to get the facts," she said. Barraga said he does understand the issue and is simply that putting up another pharmacy in a community that has three of them already is not acceptable. "West Islip looks upon that site as its identity," he said. "It is of significant historical importance." The task force has 17 members. It met last week with Gene Murphy of the Islip Town Planning Department. The goal of the meeting was to get firsthand information on what can and cannot be done with the site, said DiCarlo. "We want to approach this with a degree of intelligence," he said. "This meeting set the foundational step for us to understand the situation with the property." "We are inviting business people, owners of shopping centers, builders of assisted living facilities, medical facilities and anyone else who might have an interesting proposal for the land," said Barraga. "But this community doesn't need- and doesn't want another pharmacy."
Anyone interested in working with the task force can contact DiCarlo and its members at savelagrange@ yahoo.com
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