It is disappointing to learn of Suffolk County’s selection of Powercrush, Inc. and Vision Associates LLC as the solar developer for the former Steck-Philbin site. It is a disappointment for a number of reasons.
Powercrush, Inc. is a sand and gravel supplier, not a solar developer. As far as we can tell they have never developed a solar site and are completely unqualified to undertake this task. It is difficult to ascertain what, exactly, Vision Associates LLC does, as neither they nor Powercrush, Inc. have a website.
Powercrush, Inc. is one of the many shell companies owned by Toby Carlson and operated out of 140 Old Northport Road in Kings Park - all sharing the same phone number (631)368-4000. Other businesses include Carlson Associates, Ketcham Group, Ketcham Transport, Ketcham Farms, Ketcham Container, Ketcham Supply, and so on.
However, it should come as no surprise that Powercrush, Inc. and the various Ketcham entities make significant campaign contributions to local politics. A very brief search yielded nearly $50,000 in “campaign contributions” in recent years (see attached).
Carlson Associates is no stranger to the NYSDEC. They have been fined more than $125,000 for their illegal sand mining activities in the 1990s (see attached) and their legal troubles have continued until as recently as 2013 when they were fined by Smithtown for property violations and flagged for submitting “vague” and “flawed” site plans (see attached Newsday article).
While our FOIL request for the proposal details was wholly denied by the Suffolk County Landbank (see attached), we have learned that Powercrush, Inc. plans to develop the site as a 4-megawatt solar farm and offered Suffolk County no more than $500,000 for the tax lien.
It may sound like sour grapes, but it is interesting to note that Ecological Engineering, with its more than 10 installed megawatts of experience, had proposed to install Long Island’s first community-owned 6-megawatt solar farm and offered the Suffolk County Landbank nearly $1,000,000 for the tax lien.
We wish Suffolk County, the Suffolk County Landbank and Powercrush, Inc. all the best in their new partnership. We hope the redevelopment of the site is a great success.
But I wouldn’t count on it.
-Shawn Nuzzo
Shawn Nuzzo is President of Ecological Engineering of Long Island
Carlson Associates DEC Violations 1993.pdf
Carlson Associates NEWSDAY.pdf