Suffolk County Acquires Rights to Two Historic North Fork Farms

Suffolk County has acquired the development rights to two historic farms on the North Fork in order to preserve their historic land, according to a statement from County Executive Steve Levy on Tuesday night.

The county legislature adopted two resolutions that authorized the purchase of land at the Delalio Sod Farm in Riverhead and the historic Sylvester Manor on Shelter Island.

The two purchases cost nearly $5.7 million dollars in total, and encompass more than 81 acres of open space and farmland.

“The purchase of development rights at these two farms is in effect the preservation of Suffolk’s agricultural history,” Levy said in a statement. “Preservation of our active farmland is crucial to the agricultural economy that drives much of the North Fork, maintains the unique rural flavor of these communities and helps to preserve Suffolk’s status as the top revenue-deriving agricultural county in New York State.”

Delalio Sod Farm has grown and supplied turf grass for the past 50 years to high-profile locations such as Central Park, Gracie Mansion and The Bronx Zoo Conservancy, according to Levy's statement. The 55-acre property was purchased for about $2.4 million. 

Sylvester Manor on Shelter Island was established in 1652 and is one of the few places in America still owned by the same family since it was first founded. The manor has served as a farm for two centuries and offers educational programs for residents and visitors.

The manor property was purchased by the County and Shelter Island Town for just over $3.2 million, with some of that money supplemented by a $1.09 million federal grant from the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program secured by Rep. Tim Bishop, D - Southampton, in September of last year. 

Levy said that future plans for the property include increased livestock management, production of wheat using a wind-powered gristmill built in 1810 and additional produce sales as a small farm market.

These two properties join more than 58,000 acres of parks, farmland and open space preserved by the county in the past 50 years, according to the statement, an area almost as big as the Town of Huntington.