The master developer chosen to reshape Mastic Beach’s blighted business district expects the state’s environmental review process of the proposed $500 million project will be completed by the end of the year.
And, that construction on infrastructure — starting with a sewage treatment facility — would follow soon thereafter.
“We feel pretty confident that we’ll be putting shovels in the ground in less than a year,” Steven Dubb, principal and president of Jericho developer The Beechwood Organization, told Greater Long Island in a phone interview Saturday.
Dubb, whose company was chosen by the Town of Brookhaven to lead the project, first laid out plans for the revitalization effort in November.
The vision
Based on a draft environmental impact statement published on the town’s website and dated March 12, the plan currently calls for a modern, mixed-use downtown area with up to 630 housing units, 130,000 square feet of retail and office space, 16,000 square feet of civic space, parking garages and roadway and sidewalk improvements.
It would be built on a 40-acre, triangular stretch encompassing Neighborhood Road, Commack Road and Doris Drive.
Dubb said a State Environmental Quality Review Act review, which would set the maximum extent to which the area can be developed, taking into account everything from environmental concerns to traffic congestion and economic impact, is targeted to be completed by November, though it could be later in the year.
Required zoning changes would likely take several months to complete after that, he said.
“We have a ton of community support,” Dubb said, adding that it’s because “people see what it’s like now and that’s in need of change.”
‘Rare’ support
He said the “pretty unanimous” support is “rare in a development project. That’s why we have the willpower to move it about as quickly as possible.”
He said this revitalization effort, which would look similar to a Westhampton Beach-style downtown, reminds him of The Beechwood Organization’s redevelopment of the Rockaways, with its “amazing location,” considering its proximity to the bay.
Dubb said a three- to four-story-tall apartment building of about 250 units would have shops at its base. The balance of the residential units would be made up of townhouses and two smaller condominium buildings. The townhouses and condo units would be for sale.
Among the office space options such as for doctors and lawyers, Dubb said he would like to see a larger multi-use medical office with one of the hospitals, where local residents can access different types of healthcare in one place.
All told, Dubb said the project would likely cost about “$500 million or more,” including $100 million in infrastructure costs, some of which the company is still seeking funding for.
Traffic, affordability
Among the main areas of concern for residents is traffic and affordability, which was expressed at a March 20 meeting of the Chamber of Commerce of the Mastics & Shirley, during which Elysa Goldman, a project executive at The Beechwood Organization, gave a presentation of the plans.
“We don’t want to price people out of the community,” Goldman told the 20 members in attendance in regards to concerns about housing costs. “[The plan] should be able to appeal to all different types of people.”
Dubb added later that the new residential units would be 20 percent affordable across all housing options.
Some of the existing storefront businesses would also remain.
“We do want to not push people who are in the community out of the community,” he said. “Our market-rate homes are going to be fairly affordable compared to what you see around the Island.”
Noting that the only two arteries out of Mastic Beach to Montauk Highway are through Mastic Road or William Floyd Parkway, which can be backed up for more than a mile, especially during the summer months with traffic from Smith Point County Park, chamber member Efrain Santos Jr. of Essential Painting in Shirley, said, “There’s nothing you can do or say that will rectify higher traffic. It will always be a nightmare.”
Dubb said traffic congestion is something that is being “studied extensively” by the developer’s experts, including widening additional lanes, additional signals and other improvements.
“We’re not going to cure the traffic problems, but the idea is that we don’t make it worse, and maybe make it a little bit better,” he said.
Frank Montenez Jr., 60, of Mastic, and president of Storage R Us East in East Moriches, said he thought Goldman’s presentation to his group was well received, and that it was good The Beechwood Organization was reaching out to locals.
In fact, Goldman said the company received more than 1,000 responses to mailings from surrounding residents.
Dubb said construction would likely take four years and, once complete, will bring a positive development to the community.
“We have the opportunity to make some change.”
Top: Looking west on Neighborhood Road in Mastic Beach, N.Y. on April 1, 2025. (Credit: GLI/Nick Esposito)
By Carl Corry