NYU Langone advances on Burlington project

During the April 24 Village of Patchogue Board of Trustee’s meeting, the village moved forward on the NYU Langone Hospital Ambulatory Surgery Center project, to be located in the former Burlington Coat Factory at 196 East Main Street, after making several approvals.

The board approved for an out-of-district sanitary sewer connection for the project. The board also approved the following: a sidewalk bridge to be located at the front of the building during construction, construction fencing to be installed from the rear of the building to the edge of the sidewalk during construction for staging, etc., including the curb cut/parking lot entrance for use by construction vehicles on Terry Street, and staging for crane activity on the east side of the building.

A public hearing was also set for May 22 to consider an easement for egress doors on the east side of 196 East Main Street for NYU Langone Health.

Back in June of 2022, NYU Langone and the Long Island Community Hospital confirmed plans to fill the approximately 55,000-square-foot structure, formerly Burlington Coat Factory. The facility will be made into an ambulatory surgical center with physician offices, though the sale of the property has not yet been finalized.

The property has historically housed department stores: first the BeeHive in the 1960s and then Mid-Island Department Store. Burlington opened at the location in 1993. Glenn Levins, whose family has owned the property since 1972, confirmed the deal.

NYU Langone Health is one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers and is the active parent of Long Island Community Hospital. Back in March, Long Island Community Hospital and NYU Langone Health announced their affiliation between the two organizations after receiving state and federal regulatory approvals.

Burlington announced their planned relocation to Sunrise Highway in late 2020 and has since reopened in the Gateway Plaza. At that time, Patchogue Village mayor Paul Pontieri said that Burlington’s departure from Main Street was a loss.

Also in June 22, the Village of Patchogue sold approximately 30 spaces to NYU Langone. According to village officials, NYU paid the appraised price of $315,000 for the lot located directly behind the recently purchased and former Burlington building. The space, according to the village, will be used for employee parking. The decision, Pontieri said, made sense, being that it is not a heavily used parking lot and the money earned from the sale can be used to develop more parking closer to Main Street.