This morning’s speaker was Town of Babylon Supervisor Steve Bellone. Mr. Bellone began by telling us of his efforts to bring green thinking to the town. The town has ordered Hi-Brid vehicles for it’s fleet, and is installing green technologies in all it’s new construction. Babylon is setting an example according to Bellone. The rationale for the Supervisor appears to be, that setting an example of what should be done is more productive than preaching, or even the legislation Babylon has embraced requiring Energy Star building standards.

 

The town will oversee the building of an energy self sustaining house. Steve did not go into a lot of details on the technologies that would be used in the house, but it will be opened when completed for the purpose of displaying to the public what can be accomplished. Solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, geothermal heating and cooling, heat sinks, and orientation to the sun are all possibilities.

 

Mr. Bellone did not speak favorably of the LIPA plan to build a wind farm in the ocean off Fire Island and Jones Beach. Esthetics were not the motivating argument against the LIPA Wind Farm. Steve’s Point was that the wind farm would be for less productive than advertised. The LIPA plan calls for the installation of enough windmills to generate 140 megawatts, but because of the variances in wind conditions the average output could be very low, 25% of the stated amount. If that is true the average cost/KW to produce this electric would even be much higher than even the much criticized Shoreham Nuclear plant.

 

Designing downtowns that have apartments over retail space such as we have in Babylon, Northport, Patchogue and other places are being considered by Bellone for places like Wyandanch, Copaigue and other places in Babylon town. These arrangements are friendly to pedestrians and allow for the density that is required to house our citizens while still capturing open space for posterity. 

 

Public transportation, and class A building office building proposals on Rt 110 south of Conklin Street were also discussed. Mr. Bellone laid out a very ambitious vision for Babylon.