{"id":806,"date":"2011-04-15T14:28:16","date_gmt":"2011-04-15T14:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/middleislandcivic.com\/?p=806"},"modified":"2011-04-15T14:28:16","modified_gmt":"2011-04-15T14:28:16","slug":"no-good-deed-goes-unpunished","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/s453969799.onlinehome.us\/mica\/?p=806","title":{"rendered":"No Good Deed Goes Unpunished!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Brookhaven under investigation for clearing land at park<\/h1>\n

By Jennifer Gustavson<\/a> The North Shore Sun| April 15, 2011 in Featured Stories<\/a> Share<\/a>|<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\"A<\/a><\/div>\n
JENNIFER GUSTAVSON FILE PHOTO | A bulldozer at Bartlett Pond Park in Middle Island last month.<\/em><\/div>\n
Brookhaven Town is under investigation by the Central Pine Barrens Commission for allegedly clearing over an acre of land at the town park on Middle Country Road.<\/em><\/div>\n

When Brookhaven Town workers tore into Bartlett Pond Park last month to rid the area of dead and dying trees choked by invasive species, they allegedly cleared more land than was permitted by state law, according to state officials.<\/p>\n

John Pavacic, executive director of the Central Pine Barrens Commission, said Brookhaven Town is under investigation by the commission for clearing over an acre of land at the town park on Middle Country Road in Middle Island.<\/p>\n

In May 2010, the Central Pine Barrens Commission held a public hearing on a hardship application from the Longwood Alliance, which was requesting the commission\u2019s approval to clear more land than allowable by law because the amount of damage caused by the invasive species has created an unsafe environment for hiking.<\/p>\n

But at the conclusion of the hearing, commission members determined that a hardship was not needed as long as the clearing for a trail did not exceed four feet, Mr. Pavacic said.<\/p>\n

Pine Barrens Society executive director Richard Amper called the clearing allegations \u201cvery serious.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a clear violation of the Pine Barrens Act,\u201d he said. \u201cThe town knew or should have known that it was a violation of state law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brookhaven Town Parks Commissioner Ed Morris did not return phone calls seeking comment.<\/p>\n

Town spokesman Jack Krieger said in a statement that the parks department \u201cintends to re-vegetate much of the cleared area in the near future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was public discussion on the project at a Pine Barrens Commission meeting and Town of Brookhaven staff worked with Pine Barrens staff to address the issues involved,\u201d Mr. Krieger said. \u201cA permit was granted from the Town office of Environmental Protection (DEP) to conduct the clearing in connection with the community-supported project, which included removal of invasive species that were overtaking the natural environment, killing a few trees.\u201d<\/p>\n

Middle Island civic president Tom Talbot said he believed the clearing was necessary in order to reclaim the park, which has been plagued by tangled trees and thicket for the past several years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very evident that trees were going to have to be replanted,\u201d Mr. Talbot said, adding that the civic is in the works of reaching out to the community to develop a design plan for the park.<\/p>\n

The commission is expected to address the allegations at its next meeting on Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brookhaven under investigation for clearing land at park By Jennifer Gustavson The North Shore Sun| April 15, 2011 in Featured Stories Share| JENNIFER GUSTAVSON FILE PHOTO | A bulldozer at Bartlett Pond Park in Middle Island last month. Brookhaven Town is under investigation by the Central Pine Barrens Commission for allegedly clearing over an acre […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/s453969799.onlinehome.us\/mica\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/s453969799.onlinehome.us\/mica\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/s453969799.onlinehome.us\/mica\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/s453969799.onlinehome.us\/mica\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/s453969799.onlinehome.us\/mica\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=806"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/s453969799.onlinehome.us\/mica\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/s453969799.onlinehome.us\/mica\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/s453969799.onlinehome.us\/mica\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/s453969799.onlinehome.us\/mica\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}