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Legislators announce plans to acquire Tesla site
17 August 2009
Two recent press releases, one from
Suffolk County Legislator Daniel Losquadro
and the other from New York State Assemblyman Marc Alessi (text see
below), announced plans for the acquisition of the property that
contains the Nikola Tesla laboratory. According to a
North Shore Sun, Friday, August 14, 2009 article,
Agfa Corporation, the owner, has been in contact with several
potential buyers, at least one of whom expressed an interest in
preserving the Tesla lab. As the article indicates, none of the
previous offers has led to a final deal, and Agfa remains a willing
seller and is able to enter into further negotiations. Furthermore,
one may expect the two plans to converge towards a single offer to
purchase the property and thus preserve the Tesla laboratory for
the public.
"Hopefully this will be the year that we preserve the property as
a memorial to Tesla's research once and for all," said Alessi.
According to Losquadro, Suffolk County will begin appraisals of the
property immediately. He "is hopeful we will be able to reach an
agreement quickly".
Full text of press release from New York State Assemblyman Marc Alessi
on Nikola Tesla Property:
In an important step in the fight to preserve the historic Tesla
property, Assemblyman Marc Alessi, Supervisor Mark Lesko, and Senator
Kenneth LaValle have begun talks with the AGFA Corporation that
may result in New York State and the Town of Brookhaven acquiring
the Tesla Property. In a letter to AGFA, Alessi wrote that it is
his understanding that funding to purchase the site is available,
and he hopes that an agreement resulting in a contract will be
reached.
"As the only remaining Tesla lab in the world, this property is an
important cultural and historic site. We are lucky to have this
treasure right here in our community," Alessi said. "We need to
ensure that it is protected so that future generations can continue
to enjoy this landmark."
Alessi wrote that if an agreement is not reached, the Town of
Brookhaven is willing to pursue acquiring the land through condemnation
and public sale.
"It is my hope that AGFA will see the benefit in dedicating this
property to public use," Alessi said. "Hopefully this will be the
year that we preserve the property as a memorial to Tesla's research
once and for all."
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