OH BROTHER! Don't we have enough retailers how about some real companies that create sustainable careers that people can survive on? In a time where people are running huge debts should a new patio set or another pair of cheap jeans really be on the visa. Anyway, we the residents against Walmart appreciate your cost saving ideals however our home value (the biggest purchase of my life), safety and traffic concerns trump saving a penny for something I most likely don't need! THIS LOCATION IS TERRIBLE AND WILL BE A SAFETY HAZARD! Not only that we the tax payers will end up paying for road improvements and bridge expansion just so Wal-Mart can make money. I don't see them giving us stock shares! I have a hard time swallowing low cost savings that really cost us the tax payer money! I have lived here for some years and love my home but if Wal-Mart comes, I pray I will never need emergency vehicle because I doubt it will get to the hospital in a timely fashion. And If I ever do sell hopefully no one will visit when it rains because the smell from the dump is terrible and a giant Walmart with people throwing their garbage up and down the street will surely be a sale killer!

Also, not that Home Depot and Lowes are great but they did go into vacant buildings or retro fitted areas that needed some activity and commerce not crack heads hanging out! Perhaps the Bellport Outlet South would be a good location... oh yes Walmart will get a huge tax break for years and years just for ripping down trees instead of retro fitting an already existing building > ,:
Also if they build on Hospital Rd tax rev goes to Hagerman FD (even though EP FD is directly across the street) and school taxes to South Country SD. Super for them.
Walmart can afford to choose a location that will not harm the community they want as customers. If they cared about the consumer they would work with the community and town to choose a great spot that would work for the masses.

I live off of barton avenue, the amount of people that are going to take barton avenue to get to walmart is goin to be out of controle. the one lane in each direction is going to form lines due to the stop signs, and the traffic light. Also hospital road is one lane in each direction, i dont see how this is a good location the roads are not going to be able to handle the volume of cars. If they would move there loction to station road which has a huge empty shopping center right when you get off sinrise highway that would be able to handle the volume, plus they will knocking down old ugly un occypied building rather then hundreds of tress. I cant see the logic in the planning of this build, moving the walmart a mile down the road is still very close to patchogue medford and in doing that it pretty much gives walmart its own exit off of a main road that was built to handle thousands of cars. It's time for these people that are looking in to building walmart to pull there heads out of there you know what and put some more thought into there site. what would you rather see pat-med trees getting knocked down and roads completely backed up, or getting rid of ugly old empty building's thats are wasting space, lets use our heads on this one!

To the poster above, WalMart has said they would widen Hospital Road and add turn lanes to the surrounding area, so the addition of a store would probably actually even improve traffic in and around Hospital Road. Also, many of the other sites that you and some others bring up as alternate locations are not zoned for a store like WalMart, so they couldn't build in those locations even if they wanted to. The current Hospital Road site is currently zoned for a store like WalMart, so if it is not a WalMart, it will be something similar. I'd rather have the low prices and some more jobs in the area and not have to drive 30 mins to another Walmart.

The exaggerated traffic concerns are a smoke screen being used by union supporters and our own County Legislator Tim Mazzei to try and keep Walmart out of our community. This would be much to the detrement of the many local residents who desperately need the jobs and considerable cost savings a Walmart store would provide for us. If you doubt that just attend the public town meeting this week and see the union tee shirts and signs printed by the UFCW union that will pack the meeting room. What's wrong with developing the wooded area in question? Does anyone use it to take a hike in, for nature walks or for ANY useful purpose? NO! This store is a great use of the property to the advantage of local residents. Our legislators should get behind it without delay. It can't be built soon enough for the many of us in need of the jobs and cost savings it will provide.

While being sensitive to the "Mom & Pop" kind of stores that might be affected by a Walmart in the area, I believe the bonus to the larger population is being overlooked. I live on a very tight budget in a 55 + community in Patchogue near the proposed Walmart. This store so close by would be a blessing for me and all the other people like me who live here, in the wider area & most likely couldn't afford the prices in the smaller stores that we don't shop in anyway. I have to travel to Centereach to shop Walmart, eating up any money I save by paying for gas. I am not on public assistance; I have a full time job, I'm just someone who needs to watch every penny so I don't wind up out in the street. PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THE LARGER PICTURE & POPULATION & NOT BE SO FOCUSED ON THE SMALLER STORES THAT ARE IN THE MINORITY. Walmart creates more jobs than they do.
Thank you.

Folks, Jobs? You are talking about minimum wage jobs, mostly part time. The wages earned by the employees would hardly allow them to make purchases in the very store they work in. As for the tearing down tress? It doesnt matter if we use the land to take hikes, we are destroying habitat that is home to all sorts of wildlife. Why destroy more natrual habittats when we have vacant land that has already been destroyed. The fact that the Bellport Outlet land is not zoned for a Walmart is not a deterreent. The Town of Brookhaven can change that and the land would be used rather than be the eyesore that it has become. Widening roads are not a solution to traffic either. Did anyone think about Woodside Avenue? They just reduced it to one lane in each direction. I Walmart going to eliminate the bicycle lane to accomodate the additional traffic? The last thing we need in our community is more shopping. People can hardly afford to heat their homes now a day. Minimum wage jobs are not going to solve that problem.

I'm not sure why the old movie theatre site in Medford wasn't an option for Walmart. It's right off of the service road of the LIE and its a very large piece of property. Definitely large enough for any retailer. As for the jobs being minimum wage, we have a lot of teenagers in this town that could use the jobs.

Alex, Walmart has no such promises to pay for the widening of roads etc... Having read the DEIS proposal there is mention it should and could be done but that is not coming out of Walmarts pocket. They have contributed approx $300k to refurbishing a bridge that will cost 15 - 20 million to expand. So these numbers simply do not jive! As far as zoning it is NOT correctly zoned indeed that is why they are seeking a variance. If it was this would be built! Please sir get educated as we can not afford another mistake like Bellport Outlet South. As a resident I did not want to live next to another 112!

John, We are not labor union loving people. We are concerned residents and business owners who work really hard to have our homes, businesses and live here on Long Island. It happens that we have a mix of people who are with unions and against this project if they were building a fat rendering plant maybe it would be PETA! Let me mention there have been worker unions present at the Town Hall meetings and pro the Walmart project. Many folks just want to work in this economy and deserve to. However couldn't these plumbers, electricians etc... do the same job on the site building something that would actually provide growth and careers to Long Islanders? Not just minimum wage jobs, cheap clothes and stuff. We need smart development for the future of our residents and children. The bulk of us are not against Walmart just the location they want to build. It is terrible. Let me ask you where do you live? Would you like this in your backyard? Have you ever had an emergency and needed to go to Brookhaven? I am thankful for my community and I am proud to want make it better. After all you don't think think the people of this area should have to settle for being "Walmart shoppers" let us work together for a better community with better opportunities now and in the future.

Lori, While I appreciate your concern about the aging populations needs it is this kind of building and lack of thought that is killing Long Island and opportunities for younger generations to even live here. Not to mention the aging and baby boomers that thought envisioned retirement at 55 and are working full time just to stay on LI. There are plenty of discount retailers in a 5 mile radius. I can suggest you not travel to Walmart in Centereach and perhaps visit a Kmart right on Sunrise Hwy., the Marshalls, Home Goods etc... This will save you in gas and time. As a senior who has life experience, I question why you choose the rental space you did as there are plenty of apartments in Centereach area. Perhaps the location of your current residence to the hospital and medical facilities helped facilitate your decision to call Patchogue home. What ever it was, it was not a Walmart. The health and safety of the residents of this community will be at stake if this project goes through. Ambulances will have a hard time negotiating the traffic and small bridge to get to the hospital quickly. Lori. please understand as a home owner in the area I can not simply end my lease and move to a different community. I must sell my home and having this project in my backyard will not help my home value at all nor the safety of my children as they wait for the bus on an already super busy Barton Ave. Please together let us urge Brookhaven to find a way to serve us all better.

All the grant money spent on restoring main street were and are tax payer dollars (federal, state, & county grants) all that goes down the tubes if this project goes through. So how much is that picnic set and t-shirt really costing us? This Walmart location is a land lease so Walmart can pull out and leave the area another fine vacant crack house building like we have Bellport Outlet South service rd. As far as revenue for the community Walmart will enjoy a tax break for years because they are building a "new" building. I question the statement of new jobs! Honestly how many of us can afford to live on a part time or even a full-time Walmart salary when the average 1 bedroom apt in suffolk is $1250. People need to take a hard look at what we really NEED. Business and Industry that create real and stable growth opps for Long Islanders not just another retailer who takes a credit card! Really in this economy we should all take a look at your own personal debt do you or I really NEED another pair of cheap jeans?

The only Real issue here would been the traffic pattern on a hospital Road. Including a bridge that is already terribley congested
It is a very bad idea to add more traffic to and existing Emergency zone .
Walmart, Sears , a baseball park or any other High density traffic situation is bad.
Where is the leaderships forethought .
This Is A Bad Idea.

We have Target, Kmart, Dollar Tree, 5 supermarkets in a 5 miles radius, Staples, Officemax, Big Lots, 112 and downtown. Why do we need Walmart. They arent even that good when you compare prices. Makes no sense. We are over-retailed now.

Race to the bottom.

Walmart is good for the community but the location is ridiculous for all the reasons mentioned above. What I don't get is why so many people are concerned with their rate of pay. Folks, no one MAKES anyone work there. If the pay rate is too low for you, don't work there. Many people who work there are retirees who have pensions and just want to stay busy. Lots of young folks work there for the flexibility of hours and to pay for their gas and phone bill while living with their parents. Whatever the reason people work there is irrelevant. What is relevant is to realize that by combining their purchasing power with lower operating costs ,Walmart is able to provide lower prices to consumers. Ultimately, that is what we all want-to pay less for more. Employee wages are not and should not be an issue when we are talking about bringing more jobs into a community. Its a silly arguement when no one is forced to work there. I just wish it would relocate to the Bellport Outlets South location.

the only close hospital for the people of this area is brookhaven. it is unthinkable to have a walmart so close to it. ripping out trees and totally destroying wildlife habitat is so shameful only that we should have more places to wait on long lines to shop for junk to fill our homes with. the prices are not that amazing. the gaping, empty, dark, abandoned buildings of the old outlets are an eyesore and disheartening. they are left to rot while woods are cut down. ridiculous and sad. who above said that no one uses those woods...theres lots of life in those woods ..quite happy that no one is in there messing stuff up. bad decisions on so many levels.

I have no problem with Walmart....... I shop there myself. I have a MAJOR problem with this location!!! This is just the wrong place for a Walmart OR ANY OTHER 'big box" store!! It is common sense!!! Hospital Rd, Sipp Ave, Barton Ave, the service roads, the over pass........ NONE OF THEM can handle the traffic that will be generated by this or ANY OTHER "big box store"!!!! If this is approved it will be a BIG MISTAKE!!!! The COMMON SENSE location would be the vaccant outlet stores!!! Arnold Wolowitz does not care about this, BECAUSE he does not live here!!! WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!! Location....Location.....Location!!!! It is the WRONG LOCATION for this!!!!!

Why don't they buy the property next to the Dinner on the South side of the service road off of Station Rd. Where the outlets were?? That's a big enough lot for a Walmart. Although I like the idea of having a Walmart.