OCM’s advisory opinion, issued Oct. 6, stems from complaints by two dispensary licensees, Brian Stark Enterprises and Tink & E, Co., whose applications have been delayed or blocked by the town’s tighter rules.

The agency said Riverhead’s rules — such as doubling the required distance between dispensaries and schools or residential areas — exceed what state law allows under time, place and manner provisions.

Riverhead Town Attorney Erik Howard called the opinion “predicated entirely upon whatever was submitted by two commercial enterprises” and argued it oversteps the town’s authority to regulate land use.

“The notion that the Town cannot adopt a moratorium on cannabis uses is preposterous,” he said, pointing out that moratoriums have long been recognized as a valid municipal tool.

Lawyers for the licensees, however, welcomed the guidance.

“You can’t continue to play that game by using a tool meant for emergencies to block applications you don’t like,” said Andrew Schiever of Holland and Schiever LLP, representing Tink & E, Co.

Martha Reichert, attorney for Brian Stark, added that the moratorium was “dead in the water” because it had not yet been enacted before OCM’s decision.

The ruling comes as Riverhead has already faced legal challenges over its cannabis zoning. In July, Suffolk State Supreme Court Justice Paul Hensley struck down a 1,000-foot buffer requirement between dispensaries and schools, ruling it preempted by the state’s 500-foot standard. The town voted this week to appeal that decision.

OCM’s advisory opinion reiterates that while municipalities can regulate dispensaries’ time, place, and manner — covering hours, traffic control, odor and noise — they cannot impose restrictions that effectively block lawful operations.

Mr. Howard urged other municipalities to “wait for clarity” before adopting new cannabis regulations, citing ongoing legal and legislative uncertainties.

“I believe that the State Legislature will need to revisit the cannabis law and clarify the extent of the Cannabis Board’s authority and provide municipalities that ‘opted-in,’ essentially, under false pretenses, to opt-back out,” Mr. Howard said.

The post OCM calls Riverhead’s dispensary moratorium ‘unreasonably impracticable,’ town pushes back appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

Patriot Recycling must remove approximately 3,000 cubic yards of “unfinished/unscreened organic material” at the former Warner Nursery property within the next two weeks. Otherwise, they face immediate enforcement action, significant civil penalties, liquidated damages of $1,000 per day and potential Supreme Court action by Riverhead Town.

A stop work order issued in June ordered Youngs Avenue LLC to cease operation of its dump site after residents complained of an overwhelming odor spreading through their neighborhood. In the stipulation and temporary operations agreement for this one-time removal at 363 Youngs Ave., Riverhead Town granted a limited authorization for Patriot Recycling to use necessary machinery and personnel to solely remove the existing, unfinished materials from the premises.

However, this authorization does not allow Patriot Recycling to continue any ongoing mulching or other operations on the property. No new material can be taken in either, according to the stipulation.

Owner Joseph DeFigueroa signed the stipulation requiring he transport all the materials at Youngs Avenue to a “facility duly licensed or permitted by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation or another governmental authority with jurisdiction to accept such material for lawful disposal or recycling.”

As of Tuesday, Riverhead Town Attorney Erik Howard said in an email the location where the materials are being transported to will not be confirmed until carting tickets are produced.

“It is my understanding that the material will be going to licensed facilities in Cutchogue and/or Yaphank and some of the material will go back to Mr. DeFigueroa’s facility in Oceanside,” Mr. Howard wrote.

He added that nearly 700 cubic yards of material was removed from the site before noon on Monday, Sept. 22. Problems with the on-site payloader prevented activity to continue that afternoon. Mr. DeFigueroa’s personnel attempted to repair the payloader, but no activity took place at the site on Tuesday, Sept. 23.

All removal activities and outbound trucking will happen Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Trucks will use the haul route exiting the property along Youngs Avenue to the end of Osborne Avenue, then transport materials southbound to County Route 58 and westbound on I-495.

Mr. DeFigueroa and other personnel must keep a daily activity log, record of weight tickets, scale slips and other receipts from each truckload of material leaving the site. A running summary of the total volumes removed must also be tracked.

Jeffrey Seeman, the town’s environmental consultant, is the designated monitor of the removal. In this liaison role, he is responsible for on-site visits, observing the removal activities, providing progress updates and raising any concerns to the town attorney’s office. He is also charged with reviewing the carting tickets for the transfer to other facilities. The stipulation agreement stated Mr. Seeman will be paid $1,650 total for 10 hours of monitoring work.

If the operator fails to remove all materials in the allotted window, the town may step in and complete the task. All costs of this would fall on the operator and recoverable as a debt by Riverhead Town.

The post Patriot Recycling begins removal of stockpiles at Youngs Avenue appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

This decision comes after the 70-year-old family-run construction firm gave a presentation on July 22 before the Riverhead Town Board and community members demonstrating why it believes the company has the necessary qualifications, expertise, and most importantly, the financial wherewithal to serve as the master developer and complete this extensive project.

Some applause broke out from the audience following the unanimous approval of the resolution, including from Joe Petrocelli and his attorney Eric Russo. Dawn Thomas, the town’s community development administrator, got emotional as she concluded the CDA portion of the meeting authorizing J. Petrocelli as master developer.

The town presented 20 letters from the community in the record, in which a majority expressed their hesitations or opposition for the project. Others showed their support in letters and public comment, including East End Arts, the Riverhead BID, Suffolk Theater owner Bob Castaldi, JJ Armory owner Joseph Oliver and Georgica Green Ventures president David Gallo.

“[We’re] very excited … It’s probably been four years in the making, but finally, we’re ready to go,” Mr. Petrocelli said after the vote. He added there may be an idea of a groundbreaking date in the next couple of weeks. Mr. Petrocelli previously said during his qualified and eligible sponsor presentation that he is looking to start the project as early as November.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard addressed the audience and expressed his frustrations with some of the negativity surrounding the project, and specifically with community members requesting that the decision to appoint J. Petrocelli as master developer be pushed off.

The supervisor described those against the appointment as “the party of stagnation,” alluding to the idea that some people’s displeasure of certain political affiliations — specifically Republicans — are fueling the opposition to project.

“It seems every good thing that you want to do — everything that at the end of the day is the whole picture of Riverhead, and good for the whole of Riverhead — somebody just has to come out to oppose it, sometimes for no other reason other than I have an ‘R’ after my name, as opposed to somebody having a ‘D’ after theirs — and that’s wrong,” Mr. Hubbard said.

“This is decades in the making from when it first started … I can’t wait to get shovels in the ground for this project,” he continued. “What is best for the town of Riverhead is in the golden hand of Mr. Petrocelli, and the projects that he has built over the years and helped put Riverhead on the map.”

Now that J. Petrocelli has been deemed the qualified and eligible sponsor by the Town Board, the $2.65 million sale of three East Main Street properties to the company will go through without competitive bidding. The buildings at 117 and 121 East Main St. were demolished by the town in 2022, and 127 East Main St., where Craft’D eatery resides, may be acquired through eminent domain proceedings to allow for the $32.6 million construction of a five-story, 78,000-square-foot mixed-used building with up to 76 hotel rooms and 12 condominium units, along with restaurant and retail space and 12 underground parking stalls.

A petition has been filed to begin condemnation proceedings to acquire the leasehold interest property of Craft’D. At Tuesday afternoon’s meeting, the town board voted to approve a budget adjustment to make a $120,000 settlement offer to Craft’D’s owner SNR Bar 25 Corp.

Erik Howard, town attorney, said the town did get an appraisal, but it has not been finalized for litigation purposes yet. The $120,000 was based on this appraisal, as well as prior conversations with Craft’D, and will be presented Wednesday, Aug. 27, at the Central Islip courthouse, according to court filings.

“If we got to a number that both sides were comfortable with, we could do a settlement agreement, [which would] say the date they’re going to vacate and then we give them the money,” Mr. Howard said. “It really becomes up to [Craft’D] if it’s worth the cost of litigation to try to get more or if we can sort of come to a middle ground before we even file the petition.”

Following the July 22 public hearing, the town board requested Ms. Thomas, town attorney Mr. Howard, financial administrator Jeanette DiPaola and deputy town attorney Danielle Hurley to review and inspect certain pieces of J. Petrocelli Contracting Inc.’s financial information, as well as meet with the construction company’s legal counsel.

In a memo dated Aug. 1, the town personnel tasked with reviewing these financial documents determined they “sufficiently meet the criteria required” and demonstrated that J. Petrocelli Contracting Inc. and affiliates, including Atlantis Marine World LLC, possessed “sufficient monetary resources and available sources of funding to complete the proposed project.”

Some community members criticized town officials for not making this memo available to the public to review. Mr. Howard said the memo was filed with the town clerk on Aug. 1 and should have been posted to the town website; however, this information was available for the public to FOIL. The Riverhead News-Review submitted a FOIL request for this information, but did not receive it by press time.

Others who spoke at the meeting also found fault in the town board’s July 31 work session, where they claim board members “made their minds up” on Mr. Petrocelli being master developer the day before the public comment period ended. At that work session, town board members did give Mr. Howard the greenlight to draft a resolution to vote on Mr. Petrocelli’s appointment.

“Mr. Petrocelli may indeed be qualified and eligible to be the master developer, I’m not questioning that, but the sham and mockery you made of the legal process to reach that finding is deplorable. It underscores your disdain and disregard for public input,” said Kathy McGraw of Northville. “You made it clear your minds were made up the day before the public comment period closed, and you failed to share information that we the public were entitled to see and comment upon before a decision was made.”

Mr. Howard clarified that the CDA rules do not say the town board can’t form an opinion before the conclusion of an open comment period. Mr. Hubbard further stressed that no legal process was violated in the qualified and eligible hearing.

The post J. Petrocelli named qualified and eligible Town Square developer appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

Days after Riverhead officials announced they would no longer pursue eminent domain proceedings to acquire the Long Island Science Center building — allowing the organization to move forward with expansion plans at 111 East Main St. — Mr. Kenna posed one question for the Town Board: “How did we get left out of that conversation?” 

“I feel like it’s happening very fast, without the communication,” Mr. Kenna said to the board. “I’m all about the [Town Square] project — we have to somehow come to an agreement, where it comes to make sense, because I feel like I’m getting pushed to the curb.” 

Supervisor Tim Hubbard stressed that officials are working with Craft’D to find a new location on Main Street, and several properties have been considered. At the federal level, Dawn Thomas, the town’s community development administrator, said the town has also consulted with the Department of Housing and Urban Development to investigate the possibility of securing Community Development Block Grant funds to assist in the restaurant’s relocation. 

“We have worked with a possible location, a possible tenant or owner of a building, and hopefully we ‘re very close to making that happen … there’s still time left that we could try to make this work out,” Mr. Hubbard said. “If it does in a timely fashion, we will be able to stop the condemnation and actually let this process flow naturally, where [Craft’D] can move into a different location and hit the ground running again.”

Ms. Thomas said Craft’D is one of three properties acquired by the town in 2021 for the Town Square development. At the time, the 127 East Main St. building was purchased for $2.65 million. In 2022, two of the three purchased buildings adjacent to the Science Center storefront were demolished to open a greenspace for the public. 

These two buildings were vacant when they were acquired, while Craft’D was still under a lease, Ms. Thomas added. As the Town Square project plan was refined through public engagement, she said, it became clear the Craft’D building needed to be removed for the project to go forward, which required the condemnation of the leasehold interest of Craft’D’s operating entity, SNR Bar 25 Corp. 

The 127 East Main St. building is the planned location for the proposed redevelopment of nearly 76 hotel rooms, 12 condominium units and restaurant and retail space. Ms. Thomas said that a 2021 market study conducted by StreetSense recommended a hotel on the Town Square as the “highest and best use of the property to generate the most economic activity.” 

Mr. Hubbard previously said at a recent LI Science Center press conference that it’s anticipated these plans will be presented by the appointed master developer — J. Petrocelli Development Associates — before the public in a qualified and eligible sponsor hearing in early July. 

Town attorney Erik Howard said that under general municipal law, the Town Square properties are “urban renewal properties” and do not require a Request for Proposal, or RFP, to be issued. Four years ago, the town attorney’s office did get authorization to begin negotiations with Mr. Petrocelli, but even though he was selected, the developer still needs to go through the qualified and eligible hearing. 

“In order to demolish 127 East Main St., whether you have a deal with the qualified and eligible sponsor or not, we need to condemn that leasehold; that’s what this proceeding is,” Mr. Howard said. “It wasn’t going to happen if [Mr. Kenna] agreed to terminate [the] lease early. That’s the only way that this wouldn’t be happening.”

Following the public hearing, Frank Isler of Smith, Finkelstein, Lundberg, Isler and Yakaboski LLP, the attorney hired by the town to represent them in the eminent domain proceedings, said town officials have 90 days to adopt a resolution determining whether to go forward with the acquisition and if this decision is in the public interest. 

Once the resolution is adopted, the town attorney’s office can then file a proceeding in the Supreme Court that grants Riverhead Town an order from a judge to direct Mr. Kenna to terminate the leasehold by a specific date. Once that happens, the leasehold title will be in the town’s name, giving officials full control of the building. 

The town is required to pay the owners of Craft’D “just compensation” for the value of the balance of the leasehold interest. Mr. Kenna expressed his concern about not being able to obtain a new lease agreement within the 90-day timeframe, and urged the Town Board to consider extending the court filing. 

He also stressed he and his business partner, Robert Manolio, were supportive of the Town Square project from the beginning, but felt they were slowly being “pushed out” and any claims they knew they were “getting bought out” were false. 

When Mr. Kenna alleged that Craft’D was no longer included in the redevelopment plan for the proposed food and beverage space in the proposed hotel, Mr. Hubbard said Mr. Petrocelli offered the Craft’D owners the space over two years ago, but Mr. Kenna turned it down. 

Mr. Kenna denied this, saying he hasn’t spoken to Mr. Petrocelli in over two years and even if there had been conversations about the potential use of this space, the restaurateur claimed he never received or signed an actual lease agreement with Mr. Petrocelli. 

“I fully understand where [the Town Board] is coming from. I’m all about the project, but me and Rob are gonna lose in this scenario because we don’t know what’s going to happen,” Mr. Kenna said. “We invested a lot of money downtown between Cucina 25 and Craft’D — we were going to build another spot … no way; until this gets rectified, there’s no way.” 

Although a determination must be made within 90 days, Mr. Isler said town officials can stop the eminent domain process at any point and can negotiate anything it wishes with Craft’D. 

John McAuliff questioned the motives of Town Board officials in its decision-making, specifically how Mr. Petrocelli’s potential campaign contributions may be impacting this push for the eminent domain process. He also urged the Town Board to reconsider the redevelopment plan in terms of how the additional five-story building on the east side of the Town Square will impact the “vista” of the Peconic River.

“Eminent domain is inherently for public good, not for private profit,” Mr. McAuliff said. “If you’re on the other side of the street, or you’re experiencing the Town Square, the difference of a five-story building sitting there versus a two-story building is the vista question, is the feel — and I just urge all members of the [town] board to take a walk down there before you finalize this.”

Mr. Howard confirmed any town official who received $1,000 or more during an election cycle must disclose that figure, however, they are not required to recuse themselves from voting on certain matters. 

When other community members pressed further on these campaign contributions, Mr. Hubbard said Mr. Petrocelli is “far from [his] biggest campaign donor,” adding that he has only received $500 from the developer.

The post Craft’D, Riverhead officials at odds over eminent domain appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

Councilmembers Kenneth Rothwell, Denise Merrifield, Bob Kern and Joann Waski voted in favor of the resolution. Supervisor Tim Hubbard was absent from the meeting due to a family matter.

Going forward, signs, signboards, posters, banners and similar visual displays as well as the distribution of flyers will not be permitted in the Town Board meeting room. The revised rules state that “such instruments serve to distract, disrupt and/or obstruct viewing of the meeting, and given the opportunities to speak before the Town Board on a variety of matters, do not substantively contribute to the business of the Town Board.”

As for public comments on Town Board resolutions, audience members will only be allowed to speak once for no more than three minutes. There is however no set time limit on comments at public hearings, but each speaker will be limited to one appearance at the podium.

Mr. Hubbard will be able to use his discretion to “uniformly limit the duration of comments,” at public hearings, an authority which will be reserved for heavily attended hearings where, “time limitations serve to conduct the hearing in a timely and efficient manner” the document reads.

The amended meeting rules also stipulate that speakers and board members must refrain from making, “personal, impertinent, slanderous, vulgar, inflammatory, threatening, and/or profane remarks,” and “racial, ethnic, and/or sexual slurs, at any time, directed to any person, are prohibited.” Those who make such remarks or are deemed disruptive due to, “loud outbursts, shouting, threats or other disruptive conduct” will receive a warning. If the disruption persists, the Town Supervisor or Town Board majority can order that person to leave the meeting, and if they fail to comply, law enforcement may be employed to conduct the removal.

Barring such disruptive behavior, any criticism of Riverhead Town policies, procedures, programs or services, as well as acts or omissions of the Town Board, would not be considered improper or grounds for ejection from a meeting. 

The last time the Town Board rules were updated was in 2019 and the revision before that occured around 2012. The COVID-19 pandemic led to the use of virtual conferencing, which Supervisor Tim Hubbard said at the work session that “most town governments have stopped using all together.” In a previous version of the revised rules presented at a Jan. 30 work session, the Town Board considered limiting opportunities to comment via videoconferencing, but that stipulation was removed from the latest amendment following widespread public criticism.

Several people spoke against the amended rules on Tuesday, specifically on the banning of signs at Town Board meetings. Cindy Clifford of the Heart of Riverhead Civic Association noted that the signs are helpful for those in the audience who are afraid or hesitate to speak in public.

“To ban signs completely, to prohibit residents from being able to express their views and know that they are seen, that should be every resident’s right,” Ms. Clifford said, adding that the, “concern for them not blocking views, you could simply require that signs be limited to the back of the room — that’s not a hard request to be followed.”

Ms. Clifford also urged the board to consider restricting comments to Town of Riverhead residents only, citing a recent Scott’s Pointe hearing where a majority of the speakers were from outside the community. John McAuliff, a local public advocate, agreed with Ms. Clifford’s concern about meetings being dominated by speakers who live outside of Riverhead. He added that the banning of signs goes beyond the Town Board’s concerns about visual obstruction during meetings.

“I think the issue of signs is described in the resolution as having to do with visibility or disruption, [but] I think it has to do with the visual politics of what’s going on,” Mr. McAuliff said. “When you’re trying to push something through and oftentimes you’ve generated this opposition that shows up in signs — the last thing you want is to have an article in the Riverhead News-Review or RiverheadLocal, which has as the graphic of that article a bunch of people from Riverhead with signs up because that’s the most interesting news visual of a particular board meeting.”

Kevin Shea, a Baiting Hollow resident who is running for Riverhead Town Board in November, joined the meeting via Zoom and expressed the need for signage at Town Board meetings, as visuals such as signs and flyers enhance public discourse by summarizing complex issues, provide key talking points and facilitate more informed discussions.

Signs also provide an alternative means of expression to those with disabilities, language barriers or other difficulties that may hinder verbal participation, Mr. Shea said.

Riverhead Town Attorney Erik Howard said prohibiting signs in town board meetings was ruled constitutional by the Federal Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Kingston, N.Y. in 2023, meaning it is not a violation of First Amendment rights.

Following the unanimous approval to the resolution, Toqui Terchun, president of the Greater Calverton Civic Association, criticized the decision and called the vote an “unsatisfactory and disappointing understanding of freedom of speech.”

“You’ve now made your vote, so that has a consequence,” Ms. Terchun said on Zoom to the council members. “We now have legislation in the Town of Riverhead where residents’ voices are being restricted.”

Mr. Rothwell disagreed with the idea of limiting comments solely to Riverhead residents, as there are projects that impact people outside of Riverhead’s borders and “they have a right to come to speak.”

“Voices are not restricted — that podium is open to one and all, so is my email, so is my phone,” Mr. Rothwell said. “We’ll always be open to hear from every residents inside the town or anybody outside.”

The post Riverhead officials approve revised Town Board meeting rules appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

The agreement, a portion of which was read into the record by Supervisor Tim Hubbard at a Town Board meeting last week, states that “the parties have resolved their dispute, and the charges have been withdrawn in exchange for Mr. Murphree‘s agreement to retire within one year.” 

The agreement, which the News-Review obtained through a FOIL request, grants Mr. Murphree full back pay for the 30-day suspension that began in April 2023 and, allows him to use up all of his accrued paid vacation and personal time, along with as much accrued paid sick leave as can be supported by medical documentation, before retiring. 

Starting on the day after the Town Board formally ratifies this agreement, Mr. Murphree will be permitted to use 525 hours of his accrued paid vacation time and then, consecutively, 28.75 hours of accrued paid personal leave time, the agreement states. That amounts to approximately 69 paid eight-hour days. 

He will then be able to use as many of his 582.75 hours of accrued paid sick leave (minus 10 sick days that he has requested to buy back) as can be justified. 

Once Mr. Murphree has used and been paid for all of this accrued time, the agreement states that “continuing through the effective date of his … retirement, Mr. Murphree will be suspended, with pay, during his regular work hours.” In addition, it says, once he has signed the agreement, “Mr. Murphree will be prohibited from entering Town property for the purpose of attending any employment-related activities or functions … without the advance written consent” of the supervisor or a designee. 

In March 2023, former supervisor Yvette Aguiar first brought charges against Mr. Murphree, leading to a 30-day unpaid suspension that began in April. After 30 days, his suspension was extended, with pay, until November 2023, when Mr. Murphree was reinstated with reduced job responsibilities. 

“The position the town is still taking is that we’re seeking termination,” town attorney Erik Howard said at that time. “The Town Board voted to bring him back to do planning work, so long as he was getting paid.”

Gerard Glass, Mr. Murphree’s attorney in the case, said that since that since the end of the initial suspension, “they paid him essentially to stay home.”

Mr. Murphree was hired by the town in 2012 and was overseeing the town’s Comprehensive Plan update up to the point he was suspended. His annual salary as of January 2024 was $149,391.

Mr. Murphree’s troubles began in February 2022 when he participated via Zoom in a Greater Jamesport Civic Association meeting. During the discussion, he angered residents by commenting that he had never experienced heavy Sound Avenue traffic and had no desire to do so, that he never goes to Riverhead beaches and that he had never visited any of the town’s wineries “because they were overflow crowded with a bunch of drunk people.” 

The post Murphree agrees to retire, ending feud with Town Board appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

Town Attorney Erik Howard said he sent the agreement to Peconic Hockey Monday and had not heard back yet.

Mr. Howard confirmed Mr. Rothwell’s description of the contents of the agreement. 

Troy Albert of Wading River, the president of Peconic Hockey, said in an interview Thursday that the organization’s attorneys currently are reviewing the draft agreement. 

No one from Peconic Hockey attended the work session.  

Peconic Hockey has previously said it plans to give the bubble rink to the town.

“The town isn’t giving them land or loaning them anything,” Mr. Rothwell said.

But he said the town is looking for someone to manage the rink.

“The cost of running the facility is beyond the scope of our recreation department, as currently staffed,” he said.

Peconic Hockey is a Wading River-based, non-profit organization aimed at growing ice hockey across the East End.

It recently purchased a “bubble” ice rink from a company in Cranston, R.I. and it is being stored in Riverhead. Mr. Albert said it cost them about $1 million to buy and transport the rink.

Peconic Hockey Foundation is planning to locate the bubble ice rink at Veterans Memorial Park in Calverton, just east of the town’s parking lot at Enterprise Park at Calverton. 

Earlier this year, they revised the plan to instead locate the rink at Stotzky Park. However, that plan ran into opposition from soccer players, who said they still use the field.

The town then went back to its original plan to locate the rink at Veterans Memorial Park.

See the full draft agreement:

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