Old home on property slated for senior citizen apartments was built between 1840 and 1850, said town officials who are working with a private individual who wants to save the home from demolition by moving it to another location and restoring it.

With what town officials described as a track record of good performance behind him, the developer of the Southwood Senior Citizen complex in North Amityville appeared before the Babylon Town Board last week in what is likely to be the last step before beginning construction of a new complex—Heatherwood— adjacent to Southwood. Already the project has received approval from the Babylon Town Planning Board and other departments, and is awaiting what attorney Steve Kretz said is the official approval from New York State’s Department of Transportation, which has unofficially signed off on the project.

"The developer has maintained Southwood in impecible condition and we have never had any complaints from the residents there so we believe this addition will be an asset to that community," said Peter Casserly, the Town’s Planning Commissioner.

The plan is to construct 48 units on 1.7 acres on the east side of Route 110, north of Brefni Street. The site was formerly used for many years by Krummenackers Florist, which has now been closed.

The units will be rented and while a final figure on their cost has not been set, developer Donad Partrick said similar units at Southwood cost $995 per month, plus utilities except for heat and hot water.

A concern raised at the meeting was from resident Roy Grillo who pointed out to the board that a home on the property is about 250 years old and should be preserved.

"Are there some plans to preserve it?" he asked the developer.

Partrick acknowledged that the home was old, though he disputed the 250 years cited by Grillo. He said it is in poor shape and that it has never been recognized for historical significance. "Do you want it," he asked Grillo.

Grillo said that he did want it and would like to move it to to another location where it can be restored. In a telephone interview the day after the meeting, he said he was looking for a location and a mover to save the home from its fate of demolition.

But Town officials, concerned too with the loss of any historical building, inspected the house and said it is in serious disrepair and an unlikely candidate for preservation.

"The back porch collapsed and there is significant structural rot," said Casserly, who toured the old home with Councilman Steve Bellone. "Despite that we are doing whatever we can to work with the individual who is looking to move the home to another location and restore it."

Resident Gwendolyn Brown also raised a concern, saying traffic in the area was already bad. "What impact is this going to have on traffic along Route 110 which is already terrible," she asked.

Kretz said the traffic plan had been studied and reviewed by the Town and the State and that all recommendations had been applied to the final plan. He pointed out that the plans call for right hand entrance and exit only from the curb cut along Route 110. And, he added, that the Town’s traffic had noted in their report that cars will be controlled by a light on Route 110 just south of the driveway. An additional ramp for entrance and exit will be along Brefni Street, which should provide for a safe traffic pattern flow, said Kretz.

The site will have an exit on Route 110 and an entrance on Brefni Street. Traffic will be able to move throughout both Southwood and Heatherwood, effectively making the two complexes one, said Kretz.

In other business, the board:

•ordered the repair and replacement of sidewalks in front of L & B Mercury, Montauk Highway, West Babylon;

•extended the lease agreement with Bry Reality, which is developing a supermarket at 1551 Straight Path, Wyandanch, due to unavoidable delays;

•confirmed Nicholas Nowakowski, Middle St., North Babylon and Wayne Laedke, Chelsea Ave., North Babylon into the North Babylon Volunteer Fire Company;

•authorized Our Lady of Assumption, to hold a carnival between Great Neck Road and Park Street and Campagnoli Avenue and Great Neck Road and Park Street August 9-13;

•approved an application by Frank Bellavia to dredge approximately 350 cubic yards of material off shore of his property at 90 Thompson Ave., Babylon in Carll’s River;

•granted permission to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to begin the planning for open marsh management at Gilgo Marsh, which would include the installation of six, 20-foot by 30-foot by 2-foot ponds close to the parkway. The program would also help control mosquitoes;

•entered into an agreement with the Amityville School District for security services for the school buildings and grounds;

•authorized the emergency securing of an in-ground pool at 532 Davis St., North Babylon and to assess the cost of same against the property owner;

•authorized the clean up of an unsafe structure at 54 Benjoe Dr., and 253 Albany Ave., North Amityville and to assess the cost against the property owners;

•authorized the demolition and removal of a shed at 32 Somerset Dr., Deer Park and to assess the cost against the property owner;

•authorized litigation against Mitchell Giannini in relation to property at 5 and 11 Claire Crt. West Babylon to operating a multi-family dwelling with no rental permit and for making alterations at those properties without building permits;

•said the sale of town-owned land at 31 33 St., Copiague would not have an adverse impact on the ground water resources or the environment and approved the sale for $30,000 to Renzon Concepion.

•approved expenditure of $30,210.55 to the Village of Babylon for Cooper Street infrastructure under the Town of Babylon’s Housing and community Development Plan.

•approved a permit for a walk-a-thon for Our Lady of Grace Church for Sunday, Aug. 13, commencing at 3 p.m., and entering the Town at Route 109 and Montauk Highway and proceeding north to Arnold Avenue and west to Albin Avenue to the church where services will be held.