New York law preserves Port Jefferson-area trail and keeps possible LIRR rail yard option open

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation July 6, 2026, that permanently preserves the Setauket-Port Jefferson Station Greenway as a pedestrian and bicycle trail while creating a potential path for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to acquire 40 acres at the former Lawrence Aviation site in Port Jefferson.

The measure, identified as S10161/A10341, addresses both the site’s open-space future and a possible transportation use. Under the law, the greenway will remain a bike and pedestrian trail in perpetuity, protecting the route for residents and trail users.

What the legislation preserves

The law facilitates a transfer of 40 acres from the Suffolk County Land Bank to the MTA. The property is part of the former Lawrence Aviation site, which the state describes as a former Superfund site.

The proposed MTA use is tied to a possible future Long Island Rail Road yard serving the Port Jefferson Branch. That potential yard is, in turn, connected with possible electrification of the branch. The legislation therefore keeps a rail-transit option open while preserving the greenway as a pedestrian and bicycle facility.

For people who use the trail, the clearest immediate result is the permanent protection of its designated use. For commuters and nearby communities, the law preserves the possibility that the 40-acre parcel could eventually support LIRR infrastructure.

A possible rail project, not an approved one

The law does not announce construction of a rail yard or establish that the Port Jefferson Branch will be electrified. It also does not provide a construction schedule or funding commitment, and it does not announce a final MTA decision to build a yard.

The legislation facilitates a possible land transfer; it does not establish that the conveyance has closed. Any completed transfer, rail-yard development or branch electrification would require additional action beyond Hochul’s signing of the measure.

The site’s potential MTA role has previously been unsettled. News 12 Long Island reported that the authority had dropped an earlier planned purchase of the former Lawrence Aviation property. The new law creates a path for a possible transfer without turning that possibility into a completed transaction.

For now, the legislation establishes two long-term conditions: the Setauket-Port Jefferson Station Greenway is protected as a permanent pedestrian and bicycle trail, and 40 acres remain eligible for a potential MTA transportation use associated with a future improvement to the Port Jefferson Branch.