In addition to asking property owners to preserve as great a percentage of land as possible in their various proposed development projects — usually mandated by TOB codes and Pine Barrens regulations — MICA also works with various agencies to obtain whole parcels outright for open space preservation. Brookhaven Town’s Macchia Fund is an essential tool in this mission.
The Joseph Macchia Environmental Preservation Capital Reserve Fund is the Town of Brookhaven’s dedicated program used to acquire and protect environmentally sensitive lands, open spaces, wetlands, Pine Barrens, watersheds, shorelines, forests, and farmland.
The fund is named after former Brookhaven Councilman Joseph Macchia, a Mount Sinai resident who served on the Town Board from 1979 until his death in office in 1998, and who chaired the town’s 1996 Comprehensive Land Use Plan.
It finances fee-title land purchases, conservation easements, donations, and the acquisition of farmland development rights to prevent development in critical ecological zones.
The fund acts as the town’s primary open-space preservation tool, frequently providing matching funds for county, state, or federal conservation grants.
Here is an update on recent land acquisition proceedings and efforts from TOB’s Principal Environmental Analyst Luke Ormand, with accompanying parcel maps. Please note that the recent plots outlined in red will be joining those already in green or yellow/green as either preserved open space or land with purchased development rights that is thus saved.
Middle Island
We applied for a grant for the Sondericker Estate at 42 Bartlett Rd. Grant awards were supposed to be announced in “August” but that got pushed to “fall”. It appears now that they will be announced later this month. I fully anticipate the Town being awarded the grant to acquire Sondericker. (Note: MICA supplied a Letter of Support for this grant in the spring of 2026.)
Another house went on the market on that road, further down, next to the parcel we bought years ago where the frog tunnel is. Unfortunately, it is a foreclosure which always complicates things from an acquisition standpoint so I’m not sure if we are going after it and it will have some extra costs due to the need to demo the house and re-work the topography so stay tuned on that.
Also, on the attached map (Middle Island Parcels), we either have acquired or are in contract to acquire everything in RED. The two (2) large lots off Ashton were supposed to be done over 2 years starting this year, but it got pushed back by the owner to next year so it should be 2027 and 2028. There is a small house on the back lot that the owner is currently living in so that will be removed when she moves out (the 2 lots are about 7 acres).
Artistic Lake Group – Middle Island
These are 2 parcels we received a grant for in January. The owners had originally been on board with the acquisition but since the grant award have been non-committal. We recently had a meeting to discuss the issues and limitations on the property value and felt it was a productive meeting, but the owner’s have not communicated with us since the meeting. It appears that we will need to pivot from this acquisition and use the grant money at a different property (to be determined). While the property in question is zoned B-1, it requires 40,000 sq. ft. per the health dept, has significant topography, a large tax lien and the narrow shape of the property limits development potential / increases development costs. There does not appear to be a threat of development at this time, but it’s no less frustrating that talks have stalled.
Ashton Road
We haven’t closed yet but I believe are in contract. The owner said she would only sell if she was confident it would be preserved.
Carmans River Headwaters Acquisition
We have acquired the 5.5 acre parcel of land on Yaphank-Middle Island Rd., adjacent to the headwaters of the Carmans River (across from the school). The next step is to demo the house which we anticipate doing in the next few months.
Twin Pond Nature Preserve
There are two (2) privately owned parcels that remain in the “Twin Ponds Nature Preserve” which measures over 200 contiguous acres in size. I have made contact with both of these owners and we are currently appraising one (1) of the parcels (the other is so small it will likely be a donation). Once these 2 lots have been acquired, the underlying map can be abandoned and all of the lots can be consolidated into a single tax lot.
Yaphank – Middle Island Adjacent : )
We also are in negotiations with the owner of 326 Yaphank-Middle Island Rd. We had been looking into a life estate but have since moved to discussing an outright acquisition. The house is historic and would be preserved – Bob Kessler has stated the Yaphank historical society would handle care of the house.
Luke Ormand, Principal Environmental Analyst
Division of Land Management, Town of Brookhaven
