Mastic Beach redevelopment plan cuts housing units to about 550

Brookhaven officials have trimmed the Mastic Beach redevelopment plan by about 10 percent, lowering the housing count to roughly 550 in a move meant to blunt neighborhood resistance without stopping the project’s larger push to rebuild the South Shore hamlet’s core.

That reduction changes the balance of the proposal. Fewer units could mean less traffic, parking demand and pressure on wastewater and roadway systems, but it also means about 80 fewer homes than the original concept envisioned for the Neighborhood Road Revitalization Area. The earlier plan called for as many as 630 housing units, along with 130,000 square feet of commercial space and 16,000 square feet of community and civic space.

The redevelopment area covers about 37 acres and roughly 140 parcels in the Neighborhood Road and Commack Road corridor, a stretch that officials have long described as underused and in need of reinvestment. Brookhaven selected the Jericho-based Beechwood Organization as master developer in 2021, and the project has since been framed as a long-term answer to blight, empty storefronts and outdated land use near the center of Mastic Beach and toward Moriches Bay.

The town’s latest zoning changes followed a major environmental milestone on January 29, 2026, when the Brookhaven Town Board adopted the Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement for the NRRA. Beechwood described that step as the second-to-last stage in the environmental review process before final zoning action. The town said the proposed action includes adoption of the Land Use Plan, Blight Conditions Study, Urban Renewal Plan, NRRA Zoning Code and Zoning Map amendments.

Supporters have argued that the smaller, mixed-use district could replace blighted or underused properties with a more active residential and commercial center. Residents, meanwhile, have kept focus on traffic, congestion and how fast the neighborhood should change. Brookhaven and Beechwood have said the housing mix is intended to include both for-sale and rental units, with about 20 percent affordable, and that buildings would stay no taller than the 50-foot Mastic Beach ambulance company headquarters.

The project has also been characterized as a $500 million to $590 million redevelopment, underscoring how much is still riding on the final shape of the plan. Even with the unit cut, land assembly remains a major hurdle, with Beechwood saying late last year that it controlled or was under contract for about half of the roughly 137 properties needed.