On June 18, 2008, the first public meeting to review the impending closure of the North Amityville Armed Forces Reserve Center in North Amityville was held at the North Amityville Youth Center. The meeting was designed to give residents information and to solicit ideas for future use of the site. The center is scheduled to close in 2010. The site sits on 15.6 acres and is occupied by the U.S. Army Reserve 306th Engineers, the U.S. Navy Reserve, and the U.S. Marine Corps. The center will be incorporated into a new Farmingdale facility along with other cen­ters. Residents who attended the meeting came up with several ideas and told town and federal officials what they'd like to see there. Ethel Hutchinson, a 17-year resident, would like a medical facility. "Since Brunswick Hospital closed down, maybe it could be a hospital or a clinic?" she said. The Town of Babylon has zoning authority over the land and fully intends to implement a plan to reuse the land. The office of Economic Adjustment has applied for funding for the project from the Department of De­fense. No amount has been determined. There are some considerations that must be taken into account when looking at alternate uses, said town of­ficials. The site is surrounded by single-family residen­tial homes and has limited access to highways and the Long Island Rail Road. North Amityville has also seen a population growth, said Dotty Coleman, a resident since 1955, who has wit­Babylon nessed this growth. "Our population is increasing and we need a recreational facility addressing the popula­tion problem," she said. Another long-time resident, Faye Simpson agrees. "We need more things for our youth to keep them off the streets," she said, "and we need programs for tots and high school students. We have too many dropouts."

The U.S. Government purchased the site from the Or­der of St. Dominic and Our Lady of Consolation Home for the Aged, Inc. From 1957 - 1970, the site was a Nike missile launch area. In 1980, the U.S. Army Reserve 77th Regional Readiness Command used the facility for administrative, maintenance, and training. A second public meeting to address questions was being held this week.