Subject: Brookhaven lawmakers announced Saturday new state grants they say will be key to revitalizing the Shirley, Mastic and Mastic Beach communities. As of this date, the sewer district's boundaries have not been established and no election to approve the creation of a new sewer district has been scheduled .. If a new district is approved by the voters the funding will be part of the estimated $30M cost to sewer the Montauk Highway between CR46 and Barnes Road as well as a small residential area along the Forge River...

New revitalizing grants for three hamlets

Brookhaven lawmakers announced Saturday new state grants they say will be key to revitalizing the Shirley, Mastic and Mastic Beachcommunities .

Three grants of $50,000 each will fund capital improvements for Legion Fields and Bayview Park, both in Mastic Beach, and Airport Field in Shirley.

Lawmakers said there is no sewage treatment plant in the tri-hamlet community, which has meant that many businesses operating with cesspools have been stifled by health codes and must seat fewer customers than preferred.

"It's been hard for a lot of the businesses along main streets," Brookhaven Supervisor Edward P. Romaine said.

The construction of a new sewage treatment plant is still a ways off. It requires more funding, said Zeldin, who called the $1.3 million an important first step.

"This community is coming out of the starting gate in regards to obtaining sewer infrastructure," Zeldin said. "It has been talked about for decades but never made a reality." Zeldin said he hopes the sewage treatment plant, in the early design stage, will allow full connectivity for businesses and residents within its reach.

Bob Vecchio, board president of the William Floyd School District, said the plant will attract more commercial businesses, which is particularly important since area development is lacking. Last year, lawmakers issued a report detailing key improvements needed to change the area's reputation as "undesirable." A sewage treatment plant was among the recommendations. Vecchio said the community "has been rebuilding slowly but surely" for several years.

But the new funding has the community poised for a comeback, officials said. "The stars are aligned in a way they haven't been for decades," Zeldin said.