Lax for 32 years, Brookhaven finally wants to catch up

Read about the Town of Brookhaven and it's Biased Treatment of Hells Angels and the Prior Special Treatment of African-American Baptists occupation of the same building.

11 Lynbrook Street in Centereach in the town of Brookhaven is the new home of the Suffolk County Hells Angels clubhouse. Built in 1986 and zoned residential, the structure was used as a Baptist Church complete with a glass block Cross built in to its architecture, numerous rows of pews installed, a 15' long 3' deep, walk-in baptismal tub, men’s and women’s restrooms and a basement kitchen. What it never had in it’s over 30-year existence was a CO issued by the Town of Brookhaven. Never. What it also never had in its over 30-year existence was an inspection by the Town of Brookhaven or a summons issued by the Town of Brookhaven. Never. Not once for its poorly built kitchen, plumbing in disarray, illegal handicap ramp, dirt apron and parking lot and electrical work not done to code. Why were no summonses ever issued? Why was the building allowed to be occupied since 1986 with no Town of Brookhaven issued CO? Presumably because the Town Politicos were too afraid to make waves in a Church filled with African-American Baptists. This theory was then confirmed by Brookhaven Town Building Department employee Greg Brown inside of Town Hall in Farmingville when asked why these items never had to be addressed before. Greg Brown replied, “Who is going to harass that Church”?

This building and property now owned by the Suffolk County Hells Angels for approximately one month has been vastly improved in such a short amount of time with the club members continuing the work every day bringing the structure up to code for the first and only time in 32 years. Again, The first and only time in 32 years. What the club members have also done upon purchasing the building is paid 6 months’ worth of Brookhaven Town taxes in advance. 6 months, in advance. The club and/or a representative has filed paperwork with the Town, made numerous visits to Town Hall, getting repair certifications from plumbers and electricians, hiring an engineer to make the site plan, following the directions as instructed – something that the Town of Brookhaven should have insisted on the African-American Baptists do at any time in a 32 year period but didn’t. 

Now you have a group in the building making strides in doing the right thing in a short time. What does the Town of Brookhaven do? It sends Town of Brookhaven Investigators from the Brookhaven Attorney’s Office not once, but twice in a span of less than 10 days. One of whom admittedly did not want to be there. (Newsflash: You wouldn’t have to be there if the Town Politicos were not afraid of upsetting the African American Baptists at any time in an entire 32 year span.) With the Suffolk County Hells Angels trying to clean up the physical mess on site as well as the mess the Town of Brookhaven have themselves created, the club was threatened with summonses for being in a building with no CO that the Town of Brookhaven allowed otherwise to be occupied since 1986.

Town of Brookhaven: You are throwing stones at the wrong people. The Suffolk County Hells Angels are not at fault here and neither are the Baptists, you should be throwing stones at yourselves. You allowed it to get to this point. What are your biased differences between the two groups in the same space in that you confront one and not the other?