Politics & Government

Residents Furious KPE II's Back at Work, But Town's Hands Are Tied

Town Attorney John Zollo says KPE II's work is within the legal limits set by court.

Kings Park residents are raising an outcry after hearing all-too-familiar sounds of heavy machinery coming from KPE II's site, but the town attorney says its work is within legal limitations. 

Michelle Garry said many local residents, including herself, have been calling Smithtown's Public Safety officers and the town attorney after hearing KPE II machinery's grinding late into the night despite being under a temporary restraining order from New York State Courts. 

"This week, things ramped up quite a bit. Some people on Linden [Avenue] heard some activity at 4 a.m. in the morning where they were loading up tractor trailers, running the screeners," Garry said at the Kings Park Civic Association's meeting on Oct. 3. 

Garry said she's spotted between 6 - 8 tractor trailers pulling in, loading and leaving out of the Kings Park industrial facility over the past week. She has attempted to take photos and video of KPE II's actions. 

"It almost seems like the burden is on us as residents.  I know it's our neighborhood, so we have to take some responsibility for it, but it's getting frustrating to think we are the police in our neighborhood, " Garry said. 

Kings Park residents also complained KPE II was violating the court's restraining order in March, but investigation showed they were compliant.

John Zollo, Smithtown's town attorney, said KPE II is within their legal rights to load up trucks to remove material from their Kings Park work site. Zollo said the town has free access the property to ensure the  court-order injuction is being followed. 

"I looked at the complaints to see if there’s any basis of going to court, but there’s none. They aren’t violating the order," Zollo said. 

On March 4, Zollo won the Town of Smithtown a temporary restraining order to stop KPE from operating in New York State Supreme Court. The temporary restraining order prevents KPE II from running a solid waste facility, storing commercial vehicles and heavy industrial equipment, running a concrete aggregate processing center or other actions that are in violation of town code.

However, KPE II appealed to the courts on April 12 and was successful in getting the temporary restraining order amended by Judge Arthur Pitts to allow for removal of material - specificly decorative boulders, mulch, topsoil, sand and any equipment. 

"If there was simply a removal of objects of any nature from the property, it would seem to me that the residents would probably like to have some of stuff removed from the property and I don't see any harm in letting any materials be removed from the property," Pitts wrote his in April. 12 decision. 

Zollo objected to these changes, according to the court records, but was over ruled by the courts. 

Under the court's ruling, KPE II can remove materials from the property as long as they give 48 hours notification to the town. The town is permitted to send workers to photograph what's being removed and document it for future court proceedings, if desired. 


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