A Lengthy Island landscaper pays $100,000 in a settlement reached with New York Lawyer Common Letitia James and the Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning and Coverage Fee.
Within the settlement, Stephen Affato and his Yaphank-based firm Affa Organics are to pay a civil penalty of $100,000, and can absolutely restore the location. Affatato can be required to pay an extra $200,000 if he fails to finish the location restoration.
Positioned on what state officers describe as Lengthy Island’s largest supply of consuming water, the Pine Barrens requires preservation to make sure that residents have entry to wash water. In line with James’ workplace, Affatato had destroyed acres of this land by bulldozing and excavating soil, reducing down bushes, and clearing pure floor cowl, harming the Pine Barrens’ delicate ecosystem.
“Lengthy Island’s Pine Barrens are amongst New York’s most valuable pure assets, and their safety is paramount to the well being of Lengthy Island’s consuming water and our shared atmosphere,” James mentioned in a information launch in regards to the settlement.
“Stephen Affatato ignored the regulation and destroyed protected land for his personal profit, and now he should restore the harm and restore the world,” she added. “I wish to thank the Pine Barrens Fee for his or her continued partnership in defending this crucial pure useful resource on Lengthy Island and making certain it’s preserved for generations to return.”
“One of the vital essential points of our work on the Central Pine Barrens Fee is defending lands preserved by municipalities with taxpayer {dollars} so all Suffolk residents in addition to guests can absolutely respect all of the area has to supply,” Pine Barrens Fee Government Director Judith Jakobsen mentioned within the information launch. “The large efforts of Lawyer Common James and her workplace to carry this case to a detailed demonstrates that she is absolutely on board with this precedence, and for that, we can’t thank her sufficient.”
The Pine Barrens is a 106,000-acre pure space in Suffolk County that’s house to many endangered or threatened animal and plant species, officers mentioned. In 1993, New York adopted the Lengthy Island Pine Barrens Safety Act, which established the Pine Barrens Fee to safeguard the Pine Barrens and develop and oversee a complete land use plan for the world. This plan designated 55,000 acres of the Pine Barrens as a core preservation space and specified that any entity searching for to interact in growth actions corresponding to clearing, excavation, or building within the space should apply for and obtain a waiver from the Pine Barrens Fee.
Officers say that in October 2012, Affatato and his firm, with out acquiring a waiver, eliminated bushes, vegetation, and pure floor cowl, and excavated and bulldozed soil into enormous piles on the property. These violations had been noticed by Pine Barrens Fee workers on a website go to to the property.
The settlement introduced Friday resolves ongoing litigation concerning the clean-up and restoration of the location. Because of the settlement, Affatato will implement and pay for a whole website restoration plan, together with soil excavation, deer fencing, website grading, replanting of native plant species, sediment and erosion management, and monitoring and reporting, amongst different necessities.