Cherokee Arker hangs on
By Dawn Wotapka Hardesty
Monday, January 22, 2007

Cherokee Arker isn’t giving up on redeveloping Kings Park.

The developer, which had its deal to buy 92 acres of the former psychiatric center undone, has appealed the dismissal of its case. Monday, the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court said it would preserve Cherokee Arker’s claim to the property during the appeal, which is being expedited to help resolve the decade-long property dispute.

The action was necessary because “we could lose our rights to this property even if we were to win the lawsuit,” said Sy Gruza, the head of environmental litigation at Weber Law Group in Melville, which is representing Cherokee Arker. “Cherokee’s potential property claim remains in effect even if it gets transferred to the Parks Department.”

The legal wrangling is the latest in the ongoing battle to redevelop the contaminated property that closed in 1996.

Cherokee Arker’s contract to buy the site, clean the property and build as many as 1,800 housing units was halted a year ago because residents complained about the project’s density. Cherokee Arker sued, and the case was dismissed last month.

Also in December, the 370-acre was site was transferred to the state parks department and added to the Nissequogue River State Park. That move, however, could be reversed.

"This is another example of the greed of Cherokee Arker and shows that they are more concerned with profits than with the future of this community,” said Sen. John Flanagan, whose district includes the land. “I will continue to fight to make sure that the Kings Park community gets the future it deserves and that is one without Cherokee Arker.”

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