Abandoned Vanderbilt Mansion Target Of Trespassing, Neighbors Say

OAKDALE, NY— Fed up with continued trespassing and vandalism at vacant Vanderbilt mansion, residents of the "Idle Hour" neighborhood in Oakdale recently formed a community watch group to help patrol and secure the site. Previously part of Dowling's Oakdale campus, the historical mansion has been empty for since 2017. In 2019 new owners Mercury International stopped having security guard the site, and now neighbors say a steady stream of teenagers and young people are breaking in daily.

Sean Peterson lives right across from the mansion and can view people entering from his windows. He, along with several other nearby residents, formed a community watch group called Idle Hour Community Watch.

"Last year I started noticing teenagers exiting and entering the building," he told Patch. He called the police several times and twice Suffolk County officers were able to catch trespassers.

Peterson says the teenagers break in to drink, do drugs, vandalize, spray paint the walls and he says he's seen some leaving with backpacks full of stolen items. The college classrooms are still full of supplies and leftover material.

The Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD) told Patch that they are aware of complaints regarding criminal activity at the Vanderbilt mansion. The SCPD says they are conducting regular patrol checks at the site and that the Town of Islip Fire Marshal re-secured the building.

According to police, a 19-year-old man with was arrested for trespassing in July, and Fifth Squad detectives are investigating a burglary on August 16. Someone broke into the building, spray painted walls and desks, and broke windows and a doorframe.

Peterson says the trespassers also get in by climbing a fire escape onto the roof and descending into an internal courtyard. They often loosen the window bolts, and then the community watch members retighten them on a daily basis.

"The kids get out of school at 2:30 p.m.," he said. "They are on the roof by 3 p.m."

The Vanderbilt mansion, built around 1870, was designated as a landmark preservation zoning district last year by the Town of Islip after efforts spearheaded by the Oakdale Historical Society.

Last year Mercury International filed a lawsuit against Islip, contesting the property's taxes.

"We want to preserve the heritage. We don't want to see the building burn down," Peterson says. The group hopes attention called to the issue on social media will help bring awareness to the problem.

"I'm not only worried about the mansion, but about kids getting trapped or hurt inside. It's a very unsafe and not secure place."