New substation for Islip Terrace Fire Dept.

The Islip Terrace Fire Department substation, located on the north side of Manhattan Boulevard, may be demolished and rebuilt following a decision made by the Islip Town Planning Board.

Board members approved an application subject to standard covenant and restrictions negotiated with the applicant at the Dec. 9 planning board meeting, which took place over Zoom. The decision came after a mandatory public hearing where no one spoke.

Architect Thomas D. Blore, representing the applicant, said the application intends to demolish the existing substation and create a new two-story substation farther back on the half-acre property.

The proposed 3,000-square-foot first floor, Blore said, will be home to a firefighter apparatus, handicapped bathroom, and storage and mechanical rooms. The second floor, which would be 2,275 square feet, would have men’s and women’s handicapped bathrooms, two offices, a break room and more.

The existing and the proposed substation are monitored remotely by fire dispatch at the main headquarters, Blore said. Reps are called to the substation from the main headquarters to respond to fires or other incidents.

The applicant requires “buffer and landscaping relaxations, a parking determination in connection with the demolition of an existing fire substation and construction of a new substation,” according to the application.

The existing substation originally received its certification of occupancy in 1966, according to senior planner Tanner Gonzalez.

Gonzalez said additional variances for the new building will be required from the Islip Town Zoning Board of Appeals.

The proposal also includes a new parking lot with 20 spots, including one handicapped stall and a loading area. Parking along the sides of the building will have a required six-foot stockade fence installed.

Islip Terrace Fire Department co-chairman and newly elected fire commissioner Bart Gugel said approximately 15 parking spots are needed to fulfill the needs of the department.

Attorney William F. Glass, representing the fire district, said like all substation firehouses, the Manhattan Boulevard substation is unoccupied most of the time.

“The parking need will really only occur in times of an alarm or standby emergency, in which event, all parking spots will suffice,” said Glass, who has represented local fire departments in the past. Not all the fire equipment will be housed at the substation.