“I am truly honored that the voters of Riverhead have entrusted me to serve our community. It is with deep humility and gratitude that I step into the role of Riverhead Town supervisor-elect,” Mr. Halpin said in a statement. “Riverhead’s future depends on all of us — working together as neighbors and taxpayers, regardless of party — to ensure our community continues to grow stronger and brighter than ever.”

All eyes have been on the incredibly close race between incumbent Supervisor Tim Hubbard and Mr. Halpin, who widened the tight gap with a 37-vote lead as of Friday. According to unofficial numbers the committee received from the Suffolk County Board of Elections, the local pastor defeated Mr. Hubbard 3,956 to 3,919 votes.

Despite this declaration, the Suffolk County Board of Elections said it plans to begin the manual recount process on Monday at 10 a.m. An automatic recount is required if the margin of victory is 20 votes or less or approximately 0.5% of votes cast, the law says. That would put the margin for an automatic recount at just under 40 votes of total 7,875 total ballots recorded.

In an email on Friday afternoon, the board confirmed it would be publishing the certified results on Tuesday following the manual recount of the supervisor race.

“We are grateful to the voters of Riverhead for placing their trust in Jerry,” the Riverhead Democratic Committee said in its news release. “This win belongs to every resident who believed our town deserves a government that listens, plans responsibly and puts people first.”

Republican Riverhead Town councilmen Bob Kern and Kenneth Rothwell will continue to serve on the Town Board. Mr. Kern received the highest amount of votes, securing 3,958, while Mr. Rothwell received 3,882.

“The committee also extended sincere thanks to Mark Woolley and Kevin Shea, who ran strong, spirited campaigns for Town Council,” the Democratic committee said in its statement. “Mark and Kevin showed up every day for this community, and we are grateful for their dedication and the energy they brought to this election.”

Starting Monday, every single ballot cast will be manually counted by a bipartisan committee at the Board of Elections.

Mr. Hubbard could not be reached for comment before press time. He previously stated he was also waiting for the final absentee and military ballots to be tabulated and anticipated an automatic recount.

In the last couple of weeks, the Suffolk County Board of Elections have been counting remaining military, absentee and affidavit ballots for the Riverhead Town supervisor and council races. Mailed absentee ballots had to be postmarked by Nov. 4 and received by the Board of Elections by Nov. 12. Military ballots must be received by Monday, Nov. 17.

In an email to the Riverhead News-Review on Nov. 12, the Suffolk BOE confirmed there were 36 affidavits that needed to be counted and 39 were submitted. The board was waiting on three military ballots as well.

At the time this information was shared, 406 total absentee ballots for the general election had been counted; 171 were Democrat and 132 Republican. Around 224 absentee ballots were sent, but had not yet been received, including 84 Democrat and 64 Republican ballots. The county board also noted 58 blank ballots were sent, but not received.

Looking at the other totals for absentee ballots, 25 were marked undeliverable and 17 were disqualified. Seven were not sent, and four were deemed not active.

The Suffolk County Board of Elections previously told the Riverhead News-Review that the election results would not be certified until the end of the month.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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Mr. Hubbard served eight years on the Town Board as a councilman and was deputy town supervisor in 2018. When he took his oath as Riverhead Town Supervisor in 2023, he pledged transparency in government, civility in town board meetings and action.

When reviewing resolutions, the supervisor said he likes to look at the big picture before making a decision. The question he always asks himself before settling on his yes or no vote is: “Is it good for the town of Riverhead?”

“I fully and wholeheartedly believe that if it’s going to be a good venture, good investment or good development for the town, that’s when I will get behind it,” Mr. Hubbard said. 

Downtown revitalization is one of Mr. Hubbard’s priorities and working to get the entire Town Square project activated has been paramount.

Another goal when he was first elected was to improve public safety. In the past decade, up to 100 new police officers, as well as a new chief and captain, have been sworn into the Riverhead Police Department. He credits lowered town crime rates to the town’s investment in law enforcement.

“The difference down on Main Street right now is incredible,” Mr. Hubbard said. “We’ve doubled foot patrols, we have the [police chief] himself coming out and walking down Main Street, stopping into businesses and talking to the business owners … It’s boots on the ground.” 

Mr. Hubbard described balancing preservation and development as a “double-edged sword.” The more land taken off the tax rolls through preservation, he said, the less money is coming into the tax base.

“I would love to see Jamesport and Aquebogue stay as rural as they could be. Wading River, Calverton and Baiting Hollow, stay as rural as they can be,” Mr. Hubbard said. “The main focus should be downtown Riverhead and Route 58 and also EPCAL — that’s where we should be developing the tax base.” 

When discussing the Riverhead IDA, he said the agency should attract businesses the town doesn’t already have on vacant land.

“At the end of the day, if it’s going to provide well-paying jobs, you have to weigh that against some other developments that come in and want IDA benefits just because they want a tax break,” Mr. Hubbard said. “I don’t necessarily agree with those types of developments. If it’s something new and something that the town is going to benefit from in the long run, I’m all for it.”

Although there is not much movement on the EPCAL development front due to the pending litigation with Triple Five Group, achieving the vision of the property transforming into an economic driver for Riverhead is still on the table for Mr. Hubbard. When he was on the town board as a councilman in 2018, he voted yes to the developer being qualified and eligible, but against the CAT contract deal in 2023. Today, he still stands behind that decision. 

Amid the 2024 lawsuit between Southampton and Riverhead over the proposed high-density Riverside development and sewer district, recently dismissed by a Suffolk County Supreme Court judge, Mr. Hubbard cleared up some misconceptions about the relationship between the two municipalities, stating he and Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Moore are in frequent communication.

On immigration, Mr. Hubbard said if U.S. borders become more secure, he would consider removing the emergency executive order issued by his predecessor in 2023.

“If you’re here illegally, you should probably be looking over your shoulder,” Mr. Hubbard said. “And that’s a matter of fact … We have a high Hispanic population in the town of Riverhead, and many, many excellent Hispanic people have come to the town, made a life for themselves, and those are the people we want to take care of. I ride by and I’ll see [food lines] at the First Baptist Church and the line of cars down the road waiting to get food is incredible. We can’t take care of our own, so I don’t think our doors should be open to taking more people in.”

The post Supervisor Tim Hubbard runs on public safety, downtown revival in reelection bid appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

The three incumbents — Town Supervisor Hubbard, Councilman Kenneth Rothwell and Councilman Bob Kern — have drawn heat for boycotting the meet-and-greets scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 4, hosted by the Jamesport Civic Association and Heart of Riverhead Civic Association, respectively.

The trio will only participate in an Oct. 16 forum hosted by the Greater Calverton and Wading River civic associations at Riley Avenue Elementary School.

The GOP candidates object to Laura Jens-Smith, current Democratic Committee chair and former Democratic town supervisor, who leads the Jamesport group. They also cite concerns about Heart of Riverhead president Cindy Clifford, a Democratic Committee member and former employee of Ms. Jens-Smith.

“While we certainly believe in open debate and political discourse being a crucial and necessary part of the election process, we also, wholeheartedly, believe that the debates should be hosted by a nonpartisan unbiased entity,” Mr. Hubbard said in a statement sent to Riverhead News-Review on Friday, Sept. 26.

The supervisor called demands to participate in three forums “absurd” and “unreasonable,” noting that even presidential debates are limited to just one or two.

Mr. Hubbard said he previously proposed having a “nonpartisan, unbiased third party, local journalist” moderate a debate at Polish Hall, but claimed Ms. Jens-Smith rejected the idea.

Ms. Jens-Smith disputed the Republican claims in a Friday interview, saying no specific location was ever provided for the proposed alternative debate.

“My [Democratic Committee] candidates will debate them anywhere, anytime, anyplace — we are not limiting ourselves to any number of debates,” she said. “We believe that this is a service for the voters.”

She criticized the part-time council members for refusing to dedicate three hours over 40 days to voter forums, calling their scheduling concerns “shameful” and a “lame excuse.”

Ms. Jens-Smith emphasized she will not moderate the forums and described them as question-and-answer sessions rather than debates. The Jamesport Civic Association operates as a non-partisan organization that doesn’t endorse candidates, according to representatives.

“The purpose of the civics is for people to engage in a community and to be able to talk about what’s going on in that community. Officials from the town come and speak at our civics. We don’t say you’re a Republican you can’t come, or you’re a Democrat, you can’t come … We invite everybody,” Ms. Jens-Smith said. “It’s the Republicans that are making this civic engagement political.”

The Jamesport group maintains its invitation to Republican candidates for the Sept. 30 forum at Jamesport Meeting House.

Steven Kramer, vice president of the Heart of Riverhead Civic Association, said members are “very disappointed” by the Republican decision.

“Accepting the invitation of the Greater Calverton civic only serves to reinforce the view of many of our members who feel their voices and votes do not matter to Town leadership,” Mr. Kramer wrote.

In a statement, Ms. Clifford said civic leaders are “committed to and perfectly capable of separating personal political beliefs” from their service to civic members and Riverhead Town. She said the civic associations work to build a greater sense of community, boost engagement and strive to maintain a standard of being “non-partisan, while entirely pro-Riverhead.”

“Our members and guests benefit from having conversations, sharing lots of ideas and hearing different perspectives. We like to believe that our input is welcomed when we bring it to the town board, regardless of anyone’s personal beliefs,” Ms. Clifford wrote. “Instead, we are seeing our different opinions used in an attempt to separate ‘us’ and ‘them’. That is the polar opposite of our continual efforts to collaborate for Riverhead’s greater good.”

Ms. Clifford said the Hon. Greg Blass, a former Suffolk County legislator, family court judge, commissioner of Department of Social Services and “lifelong Republican,” will moderating the candidate forum for the Heart of Riverhead on Saturday, Oct. 4.

The post Riverhead GOP leaders defend decision to opt out of candidate forums appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

The Heart of Riverhead Civic Association will lead the next meet-the-candidates session on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 10:30 a.m. at the Riverhead Free Library. The final public event will be hosted by the Greater Calverton Civic Association and Wading River Civic Association at Riley Avenue Elementary School in Calverton on Thursday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m.

Riverhead Democratic Committee candidates Jerry Halpin, Kevin Shea and Mark Woolley have agreed to attend all three forums.

The Republican incumbents — Supervisor Tim Hubbard, Councilmen Bob Kern and Kenneth Rothwell — will only take part in the final event, sparking backlash from Jamesport civic leaders.

“I think any candidate who declines an invitation to speak at a forum of candidates who are running for election [or] re-election — [they] are being handed an opportunity to meet with the voters — and not to participate, is missing a valuable opportunity,” said Joan Cear, recording secretary for the Greater Jamesport Civic Association. “Our door is open: We would welcome them to attend, no hard feelings.”

Ms. Cear said the GOP leaders have “failed to respond to numerous invitations extended” through the Riverhead Republican Committee Chairwoman Tammy Robinkoff and Vice Chairman Victor Prusinowski.

The Greater Jamesport Civic Association sent individual certified letters to Mr. Hubbard, Mr. Kern and Mr. Rothwell earlier this month.

Ms. Robinkoff replied on behalf of the incumbent candidates in an email: “Please be advised the Riverhead Town Supervisor and Councilmen will not be attending the Meet The Candidates on the dates you have provided by email and certified mail. We will be having one debate at a neutral location with a neutral moderator.”

A point of contention for the GOP is the role played by Greater Jamesport Civic Association president Laura Jens-Smith — who is also the chair of the Riverhead Town Democratic Committee.

Ms. Robinkoff called Ms. Jens-Smith’s position a “conflict of interest,” in an email to the Riverhead News-Review. She added the president of the Heart of Riverhead Civic Association, Cindy Clifford, is also involved in the Riverhead Democratic Committee, which “seems to be a conflict for an impartial forum.”

Mr. Rothwell said in a text to the Riverhead Review-News on Tuesday that it was “unethical for [Ms. Jens-Smith] to run a debate for her slate of candidates.”

He continued to say he felt certain the Wading River and Calverton civic associations would “run a fair debate.” Mr. Kern said in a text he liked the idea of holding the forum with all the civic groups in Calverton.

Mr. Hubbard echoed the desire for a neutral environment and moderator. He added that Ms. Jens-Smith “refused to accept the offer” of a proposed date with a neutral moderator at Polish Hall.

“Not sure who anointed [Ms.] Jens-Smith as dictator of all the debates, all we are asking for is a level playing field,” Mr. Hubbard said in an email to the Riverhead News-Review. “[It’s] time for a change in how things have been done in the past.”

Ms. Jens-Smith and Ms. Cear have stressed the Greater Jamesport Civic Association is a non-partisan organization that does not endorse candidates.

Vice president Steve Green will be the moderator for the forum, not Ms. Jens-Smith.

Ms. Jens-Smith noted that there were no previous complaints about past Greater Jamesport Civic Association meet-the-candidates events.

“We live in a smaller town and sometimes people wear several hats. But, it doesn’t mean that it crosses over,” Ms. Jens-Smith said. “There are people in the civic [association] that are Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Conservatives. The [forum] is a non-political event. I really make a strong effort to make sure that I’m not crossing over so that it isn’t political.”

Where to submit questions

Toqui Terchun, president of the Greater Calverton Civic Association, commended her fellow civic leaders for voting to move ahead with all three events despite the absence of the GOP slate for the first two.

For the Greater Calverton and Wading River candidates night, Ms. Terchun and Sid Bail will be the moderators.

The deadline for community members to submit questions by email to gcca1992@gmail.com is Sunday, Oct. 12. All the candidates will receive the same questions. Queries will not be taken from the audience.

Residents who want to attend the Heart of Riverhead Civic Association’s forum on Oct. 4 can submit questions via Facebook or to HeartofRiverheadcivic@gmail.com.

The post Civics to host three candidate forums, Riverhead GOP decline two 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.

At the end of May, the Riverhead Town Board granted preliminary approval for the Island Water Park Corp. site plan, with six conditions — all of which were “adequately addressed,” according to the Town Board’s resolution.

However, not all of the conditions imposed were fully met before this final approval, specifically the outstanding New York State Department of Environmental Conservation violations and closing out its mine reclamation permit used to create the 19-acre man-made lake.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard said he and Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio recently met with state DEC officials to discuss Scott’s Pointe and received “their full blessing” for the water park operator to continue on with its remediation while in operation.

Island Water Park Corp. and the NYSDEC reached a settlement — called an order on consent — where both parties agreed that as long as the water park operator is in compliance, the violations will be “continuing” and DEC enforcement will be ongoing until the site is fully remediated.

The NYSDEC, the resolution stated, “shall not institute any action or proceeding for penalties or other relief described” and the business can go forth with its operations while the mine permit is still active.

“The consent order indicates that the DEC is aware of the activities of the property and has no objection to the proposed activities subject to Island Water Park’s compliance with terms of consent order,” said town attorney Erik Howard said. “In terms of reclaiming the mine, [it] gives them additional time to vegetate the banks of the lake.”

In the preliminary site plan approval, Island Water Park Corp. was instructed to obtain a Freshwater Wetlands Jurisdictional Determination from the NYSDEC. Kevin Jennings from the NYSDEC said in a June 13 email to Island Water Park Corp. that “activities that took place before [January 1, 2025,] would not have needed a Freshwater Wetlands Permit at your site.”

The Town Board considered this email as “adequately addressing” this condition, the resolution stated, and if the NYSDEC required further review and approval under Freshwater Wetlands regulations, the applicant would have to comply. The News-Review attempted to contact Mr. Jennings to clarify his email, but did not receive a response by press time.

The water park operator was also asked in the preliminary approval to satisfy the fire marshal chief’s comments from February, which called for the requirement of an emergency responder radio coverage system in the existing building; an additional fire hydrant if there is exterior storage for flammable gas farther than 400 feet from an existing hydrant; an approved water supply for fire protection; and a facility for hazardous materials. Island Water Park must comply with national emergency and safety standards for operating motorsports venues.

All the necessary fire marshal permits for the site plan were obtained and, upon final inspections by the Riverhead Town fire marshal, the Town Board determined this condition was satisfied.

Additionally, the current site plan must be revised to include a barrier around the outside of the racetrack to control stormwater management and erosion into the lake. A property covenant must also be filed through the town attorney’s office agreeing that the track will be used for go-karts only and prohibiting the use of any other type of vehicle.

On its website, Scott’s Pointe planned a grand opening of the go-kart track for Saturday, June 21, and teased the opening on its Facebook page the day after the Town Board meeting.

Town officials also confirmed water park visitors were allowed to swim in the lake as of last week.

“[The DEC] were comfortable enough with the current process and what’s going on, they’re also going to be monitoring to make sure that [Scott’s Pointe] finish up what they have to finish up, but they were comfortable with giving permission for it to run a full-scale operation,” Mr. Hubbard said.

Ken Meyers, project manager for Island Water Park, declined to comment on the final site plan approval for Scott’s Pointe. Councilwoman Denise Merrifield, who has been previously vocal in her opposition, was the sole no vote on the resolution.

Kathy McGraw of Northville criticized the Riverhead Town Board at Tuesday night’s meeting for going through with its final approval of the amended site plan application.

“Why are you giving final approval to the site plan when at least two of your conditions have not been met?” Ms. McGraw asked. “This board sometimes positions itself as being tough with Island Water Park — this approval is anything but tough; just another cave in to the serial offender.”

The post Riverhead Town Board green lights Scott’s Pointe 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.

As previously reported, Riverhead Town has a resolution in place to maintain the traditional odd-year arrangement. One of the arguments in favor of the schedule is allowing residents to focus on local races and issues without the distraction of the bigger contests.

“The appellate decision obviously was very disappointing to me. Right from the beginning, I have been against this, because I think, ‘What happens when you move everything to even-year elections?’ That means it’s the bigger elections. Your state and federal elections are on even years, and it’s very easy for the local issues to get lost in the mix of the larger state and federal issues,” said Riverhead Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard. “I think when we had odd year elections, the towns, the villages, have a better sense of getting word out what they’re doing, what they want to do, what their candidates are all about. It gives the people a better choice, locally, to do an election on an odd-year as opposed to an even year when there’s much bigger fish to fry.”

The change has been described as a cost-saving measure. As things currently stand, the law does not change the voting year for judges, thus still requiring the polls to be manned in odd years. Moving these elections requires an amendment to the state constitution. In her announcement after signing the law, Governor Kathy Hochul called the change “a fiscally responsible approach that would reduce the taxpayer cost of election administration by avoiding the need for elections to be held every single year.”

“This only deals with certain members. Certain elected officials, judges and such, will be going forward on odd-year elections. So you still have to man the polls, you still have to set all the voting areas up and everything else. So it’s not a cost savings at all. As a matter of fact, it may end up costing more money in the long run,” said Mr. Hubbard.

Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski stated that he could see both sides of the issue.

“The concern, of course, is that there’s so many people running for so many seats at one time that it’ll kind of dilute people’s attention. Obviously, the fiscal impact should be a big help, because it’s very expensive to run elections every year. So from the Board of Elections standpoint, if this simplifies things, mechanically it would be a big win,” said Mr. Krupski.

Voter fatigue, when constituents are overwhelmed by the number of issues and candidates they need to vote on, is also a concern, according to Mr. Hubbard.

“All you have to do is turn your TV on come election time in those even years. And you know, we’re getting commercials and messages just months and months prior to the election, and really, people get tired of hearing it,” said Mr. Hubbard. “And half of it is rhetoric or not total facts. It’s very disappointing that the whole system is run that way, but it definitely can cause voter fatigue. There’s no doubt in my mind.”

Mr. Krupski said that Southold would be taking up discussions of the issue and moving towards some kind of action, if needed.

“I understand standardizing it. On the other hand, the local elections are so important, and we have to make sure people pay attention to them,” said Supervisor Krupski. “People only have so much time — I get that. They’re going to pay attention to a different race at a different level of government that is the important topic at that time, versus making sure that their local election gets enough attention.”

The State Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on September 8.

The post Move to even-year elections upheld by appellate court appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

With his two-year term expiring, Supervisor Tim Hubbard is running for reelection. Council members Kenneth Rothwell and Robert Kern are also running again for four-year terms. All three incumbents were nominated at the Riverhead Republican Committee’s convention on Feb. 5. 

Mr. Kern said in a phone interview that he has dedicated himself to working for Riverhead Town and pointed to remaining work in as his reason for seeking reelection.

“I just want to keep the momentum going because I think we’re doing a lot of great things in Riverhead,” said Mr. Rothwell, who pointed to several accomplishments during his term, including getting clean drinking water to Manorville, securing grants for Downtown Riverhead revitalization and enhancing the police force.

Mr. Hubbard did not respond to a request for comment as of press time.

Mr. Halpin is lead minister at North Shore Christian Church in Riverhead and has worked professionally in nonprofit leadership as a pastor for over 30 years, which he said has demanded “personal and fiscal accountability, and transparency.” Since launching North Shore Christian Church, he said he has gained experience running programs, organizing community outreach, mobilizing volunteers, calculating budgets, strategizing and formulating solutions with church stakeholders in mind. 

“In my experience as a minister, I’ve learned to listen and to know that I don’t have all the answers, but as a community, as you weed through those answers, they’re here, people have them,” Mr. Halpin said. “There’s a lot more strength in community than there is in an individual.”

The current town administration’s decision to pierce the statewide tax cap with a 7.89% hike — the town’s largest increase since the cap was enacted in 2012 — is what motivated Mr. Halpin to run for supervisor, he said.

He claimed in an emailed statement that there is a “clear shuffling” of residents’ tax dollars that are intended to pay for infrastructure and preservation, but have been used for “pet projects of the current administration.” Additionally, he said, even though he is running on the Democratic line, Mr. Halpin deems himself more of an independent. 

“They’re taxing people out of their houses … off the island; there are so many things that our town loses,” Mr. Halpin said. “It’s not personal — people have asked me continually why the Democratic Party specifically, and [it’s because] they were open … they’re willing. For 30 years, I’ve been communicating with people to make a difference in their community, and I think now’s my time.”

Mr. Shea, of Baiting Hollow, is a retired New York City firefighter and 9/11 first responder, as well as the creator of the world’s largest geodesic dome home, where he resides. He is the founder of O Corporation International, the nonprofit OneMust (also known as E.A.R.T.H.) and Long Island Dome Gardens. He is also involved in the Cornell Master Gardeners, the Suffolk Alliance of Pollinators, ReWild and WildOnes and has participated in community theater.

As a 20-year resident, he said he has developed a strong understanding of local needs and priorities. His experiences as a first responder and leader in farm, garden and forest management, he explained, have equipped him with strong leadership, problem-solving and communication skills.

The politics newcomer said maintaining Riverhead’s rural character, enhancing public safety and mitigating community economic and housing issues would be his main priorities if elected to the Town Board. He said he hopes his campaign encourages higher voter turnout and inspires others — especially younger and disenfranchised voters — to be more civically involved. 

Mr. Shea said he remains a champion for the environment and would push for more renewable energy projects, green infrastructure and flood resilience measures to prepare Riverhead Town for potential environmental threats in the future.

“Climate change is a catastrophic risk. It calls on our courage to be resilient as a local community,” he said in an emailed statement. “I advocate building beach, port, highway and agriculture infrastructure to adapt to and mitigate climate change.”

Mr. Woolley recently retired from 30 years of public service working with six different members of Congress, including Congressman Tom Suozzi and former representatives Lee Zeldin and George Santos. Through his experiences at the state and federal level, he aims to bring a “more sensible approach to public service,” he wrote.

He also has experience working with farmers and the Long Island Farm Bureau and, if elected to the Town Board, would like to continue to help sustain Riverhead’s agriculture, as well as protect its bluffs, beaches and groundwater. Mr. Woolley is also Mr. Hubbard’s brother-in-law, but said in a phone interview that he is solely running for a seat on the Town Board, not against Mr. Hubbard himself. 

“I run because our town is threatened by overdevelopment, poor planning and a zeal to grab onto whatever is presented without research, without considerable discussion [and] without public input that is not first ridiculed, chastised, bullied and quashed,” Mr. Woolley said in a written statement. “I do not to run to oppose any one man, but instead to oppose the policies and the procedures under which they are carried out by the current Town Board … it has become obvious over recent years that the future of our town is at risk.”

The post Full slate of candidates announced for November Town Board election appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

Last December, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation that moves local elections statewide from odd- to even-numbered years. The move is touted to increase voter participation and expand voter access, since residents of New York state historically turn out in greater numbers in  even years. According to the governor’s website, for example, millions more New Yorkers participated in elections in 2020, when approximately 64% of eligible voters cast ballots, than in 2021, when just 25%  of eligible voters turned out for local elections around the state.

One argument against the change to even-year mandate is that local races are drowned out by the up-ballot candidates. “We lose the localness of the election when you mix it into even-year ones with bigger elections,” Riverhead Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard said in a recent interview. “The local elections sometimes get lost in the fray of say a presidential election. To me, it’s important to keep the local issues in the forefront.” 

Mr. Hubbard noted that, despite state rules, judges will still be selected in odd-year elections. “I’ve heard them say, ‘Well, there’ll be less elections.’ Well, you still have to have the voting, you still have to have the election workers there. You still have to have the space to do the election.” 

Changing election years for judges would require an amendment to the state constitution, a move the governor supports. The law passed last year applies to all races that can be changed through legislation.

Riverhead town attorney Erik Howard pointed out that voters have only so much bandwidth to devote to elections, and having local issues separated into odd years allows them to focus on what will affect them on a day-to-day basis. “It’s not necessarily that those issues are more important, but those issues require a certain amount of consideration before you select a candidate,”he said.

The town sees this as a matter of home rule, whereby local governments determine the best way to deal with matters unique to their own municipalities. “Local elections are purely local matters “ Mr. Howard said. “That’s something that the town should always retain its authority over, and assert that authority as previously granted.” 

“It doesn’t save any money, so it doesn’t make any sense to me,” the supervisor said. ”Why mess with it? I don’t like losing the local issues when it’s combined into the state and federal elections.” 

Mr. Howard stated at the Nov. 7 town meeting that any addition to the town code would be made  in anticipation of a legal challenge to the state’s new law.

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