Nicole O’Neill's children loved going to the Holtsville zoo when they were growing up, and one of them now works there.

The retired teacher said her students, some with visual impairments, delighted in the goats, bears and raptors housed at the zoo, part of Brookhaven Town's Holtsville Ecology Site on Buckley Road.

“The recognition of what a goat sounds like and what a goat feels like was important" for her children and students, O'Neill, 64, said Tuesday in a phone interview. “They noticed something different every time they went.”

Last week the Rocky Point woman joined dozens of other zoo supporters — including parents, educators and zoo workers — calling on town Supervisor Dan Panico and council members to reconsider plans to close the four-decade-old facility.

Supporters attending

See Full Page