$1.5 million state grant awarded to Smithtown for upgrades at Paul T. Given Park

The Town of Smithtown has been awarded a $1.5 million state grant that it will use to help clean up and transform an environmentally sensitive park that includes property that once housed a topless bar.

The site of that bar is being converted into the park’s new welcome center, Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim said.

The town recently received the grant to revamp Paul T. Given Park on Route 25, Wehrheim said. The park, west of downtown, was acquired in a land swap in 2022 with Suffolk County. It now includes the site of the former Oasis Gentlemen’s Club, near the town’s famous bull statue on West Main Street. The town purchased that building in May 2021.

The funding was awarded through New York State’s Regional Economic Development Council’s Local Waterfront Revitalization Program, which grants matching funds to state communities for planning, designing and construction projects that revitalize communities and waterfronts.

The money will go toward improvements to the park and will add protection of the headwaters of the Nissequogue River, according to Wehrheim. “It’s going to be a great way to protect the headwaters of the Nissequogue … ,” Wehrheim said.

The river flows north into Long Island Sound. It is “home to one of the largest coastal wetlands on the North Shore of Long Island,” according to the website for the Long Island Sound Study conservation group.

Joyann Cirigliano, conservation co-chair of the Four Harbors Audubon Society, said the river, along with Smithtown Bay and the river’s watershed, plays a vital role in the migratory pattern of birds. “It’s globally important for migrating birds, winter birds, summer birds, breeding birds,” Cirigliano said. “The river is a high-use river in a seriously suburban area.”

Noting that there had been issues with the invasive Japanese knotweed plant growing at the river in recent years, Cirigliano said she hopes the town can get the presence of those plants under control in a safe manner that protects the river.

Park upgrades will include removing invasive plants such as the Japanese knotweed, according to town officials, and revegetation efforts to restore the riverbank and surrounding areas with native species. Other planned upgrades will the addition of ADA-compliant pathways and ramps, and a raised viewing deck with benches. A new drop-off circle for improved visitor accessibility also is planned, according to town officials.

The 10.3-acre area includes a quarter-acre piece of land that once housed the strip club. The town in 2020 started eminent domain proceedings to acquire the club property, Newsday previously reported. It sought to obtain the property after residents had complained about the establishment providing topless entertainment, town officials had previously said.

Wehrheim said the building that once housed the club is being redesigned, renovated and converted into a welcome center. It will feature canoe and kayak rentals, restrooms, concession areas, a multipurpose meeting room for town business, community groups and community workshops; and educational exhibits and displays of local history.

The town also has partnered with the state Department of Environmental Conservation on work to turn the park into a natural sanctuary that protects the local ecosystem.

State Sen. Mario Mattera (R-St. James) had worked with Assemb. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-St. James) in 2022 to help the town obtain the park in a land transfer from Suffolk County. Mattera said Friday the funding would help speed up the revitalization of the park property into a “welcome focal point for all who come to Smithtown.”

He added that he is “excited that this once-blighted area will soon offer so much to residents and visitors alike.”