MILLENNIUM CHERRY GROVE UPDATE

Tonight, the Patchogue Village Board of Trustees is meeting on a needed zoning change that if approved will help speed the construction of a new hotel in Patchogue Village on the Patchogue river. Pictured today is a rendering of the proposed Tempo hotel under the Hilton hotel banner. (photo credit: Newsday) Readers might ask what any of this has to do with Cherry Grove and FI Pines. The answer is, right now not much, but in a few years maybe a lot. Part of this proposed hotel application includes a plan to dredge for a new marina on the Patchogue River near the hotel. Only a stone’s throw away actually. Once that is done, and that looks to be about 3 years from now after construction is finished, a very interesting option might take shape. And that option would be a new direct water taxi link from Patchogue Village to FI Pines and Cherry Grove. For those traveling from the west taking the train to Patchogue would add about 10 minutes to the train trip. But once at the Patchogue train station, unlike today, it would be a short walk to the hotel and the marina there to link up with a water taxi. No shuttle service would be needed from the Sayville train station to the ferry connection in Sayville. The train trip would be longer but overall travel time to FI might turn out to be shorter and less complicated. The waiting area would include the amenities of the nearby hotel. Also train service from Patchogue is actually superior to that that can be found in Sayville. For example, on weekends there are several express trains to NYC that would take a rider from Patchogue to the Jamaica train station with no stops in between. The train station in Patchogue too is now undergoing a major renovation and included in that is new outside lighting making it a safer wait area for trains in either direction. For those traveling from the east the benefit would be a shorter route to a water taxi with all the benefits previously detailed. This idea is already getting mentioned at public meetings in Patchogue Village. H20 water limo that already provides water taxi service between FI Pines and Cherry Grove and cross bay trips too does so from a location in Blue Pt. A new Patchogue Village pick up and drop off site could prove very attractive to it to use. It already has a license to sail on the Patchogue river and does so now from time to time promoting Patchogue riverfront events. It should also be mentioned that the availability of hotel rooms in Patchogue Village, with good connections to FI, also raises the possibility of some visitors finding housing for day trips too that could actually reach far into the night hours depending on what water taxi service might occur in the future from the marina near the hotel. If no water taxi service ever occurs, if just the hotel opens up that that would still be a benefit by helping with today’s housing crunch for visitors to Cherry Grove and FI Pines. Rail service from Patchogue Village is frequent, fast, and low cost in either direction to the Sayville train station. None of this is happening now. And it’s far from being a done deal. The devil is always in the details. But it’s an evolving story worth keep an eye on because of its potential impacts for a lot of people.