Schools
BOE: Masera Deal With Atlantic Auto Falls Through
Proposed deal to lease parking space to auto dealer in exchange for annual rent and field improvements is defunct, according to BOE President Steve Gellar.
Negotiations between the West Islip Board of Education and Atlantic Auto Group to lease parking space at Masera Learning Center have dissolved, BOE officials announced Tuesday.
According to BOE President Steve Gellar, the deal was nixed as Atlantic was looking to pay "significantly less" for the space than what was initially discussed.
"[Atlantic] was no longer comfortable with the terms that they had agreed to." he said. "They asked us to take a lesser donation...the deal has fallen through as a result. So that project will not be happening," he said.
The tentative proposal outlined by Gellar in December called for the construction of a 150-space parking lot to be used by Atlantic Auto employees at Masera Learning Center as part of a 10-year lease. In exchange, Atlantic would have paid the district $30,000 per year, and would have naming rights to the scoreboard on the high school turf field.
In addition, the auto group would pay for improvements to various sports fields throughout the district, including those at Masera, Bayview Elementary and West Islip High School's Barberry Field, which would have been converted to a turf field. Masera would also have received a new sidewalk and parking lot.
Now that the deal has fallen through, Gellar said the fields will remain as is.
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