The residents are concerned about having a cannabis growing operation in proximity to where children reside and where elderly people with respiratory illnesses may be exposed to odors. They also worry that the facility will precipitate a loss of property values and impact the environment. Other issues include increased traffic and noise pollution.

“We’re simply stating that it is a poor location, considering what has developed around that family farm,” said Toqui Terchun, president of the Greater Calverton Civic Association. 

A network of representatives have stood in for the applicant, Brother Bear Canna of Syosset, in both meetings with the town and an information session held at Windcrest East, a development that neighbors the property.

“I’ve never seen an owner stick a face in there and say, ‘Hey, I’m going to be your neighbor.’ And are those owners going to be the operators? And if they’re not, who are those people? So fundamentally, this doesn’t feel like a neighbor,” said Ms. Terchun.

Diane Gaudiosi, Windcrest East resident, has been vocal about the potential impacts of the growing operation on her community. She is on the team representing the 126 senior households in Windcrest. Many of the residents are in their ’80s and ’90s, with one who has reached 106 years old: Ms. Gaudiosi’s mother, who lives with her.

Ms. Gaudiosi said that many of her neighbors are living with serious respiratory illnesses and that the impact of marijuana odors is not well understood.

“Many of the seniors here have emphysema, COPD [and] asthma. Absolutely no health study has been done on the impact of cannabis odors on seniors with respiratory disease,” she said.

Another factor is the buffer of woods the applicant plans to leave between the new facility and the residential area. The patch of trees may provide cover in the summer months, but for most of the year, the building will be visible.

“There are only about 12 feet of trees between their property and our senior community. And during the winter, when trees lose their leaves, residents will have an unobstructed view of a monstrous industrial factory building,” said Ms. Gaudiosi. “The remaining area consists mainly of scrub oak and grass, but the applicant site plans suggests that a dense line of trees exists between the properties, which is very misleading.” 

Ms. Terchun agrees, noting the environmental cost of running such a large, 24/7 operation.

“They call it a greenhouse, but it really looks like a warehouse. It doesn’t look like a greenhouse. And it has an electrical system, HVAC system [and] water. They all have power requirements. Those things are going to be of particular concern, because those impacts are potentially great,” Ms. Terchun said.

The size of the building makes its proximity to the residences an issue when it comes to reselling. Also, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for many of the seniors to relocate at this stage of their lives. 

“For people to come and wanting to buy homes here, they’re going to ask, ‘What is that monster structure over there?’ and they’re not going to buy. Our values will go down, and our retirement savings will go down,” said Ms. Gaudiosi.

Larry Levy, property manager at Foxwood Village, another of the local developments, voiced his concerns at the planning meeting. He had many of the same concerns, citing noise, traffic and a drop in property values. 

“My company said that I can go take a drive. I want to personally go and smell, and listen, and get a feel for it. Because if I go there and there’s nothing, it’s an agricultural use, I get it,” said Mr. Levy.

Ultimately, residents want to continue living in the type of environment they have now, where the rural character of Calverton is preserved.

“It’s not like they bought next to an airport and now they want the airport to close,” Mr. Levy said. “They bought in a farm type area, you know, a very rural area.” 

Riverhead News-Review reached out multiple times to Larry Davis of Patchogue, the attorney representing Brother Bear Canna, but was unable to reach him for comment.

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Mr. Hubbard, a Republican, defended piercing the state’s 2% property tax cap for the fourth straight year, calling it “antiquated” during the showdown on Thursday, Oct. 16. 

Mr. Halpin, an independent running on the Democratic line, blamed the incumbent’s administration for leaving residents “out to dry” with rising costs. 

The exchange highlighted the central issue dividing candidates as voters prepare to choose a supervisor and two Town Board members Nov. 4.

Residents packed Riley Avenue Elementary School in Calverton for the forum, hosted by The Greater Calverton and Wading River civic associations – the only faceoff involving all the candidates after the Republican slate skipped two previous events hosted by civic groups they claimed were biased.

Riverhead’s five-member Town Board includes two other Republicans, Joann Waski and Denise Merrifield, who are not up for reelection this year.

Toqui Terchun and Sid Bail acted as moderators on topics that included taxes, land preservation, agriculture, development, affordable housing and environmental issues.

Supervisor battle

On the main card, Mr. Hubbard pushed back over criticism of his tentative 2026 budget, which exceeds the state-mandated tax cap by more than five percentage points.

The supervisor noted the pension system, health insurance, salaries and contracts alone pierced the tax cap – forcing him to cut nearly $600,000 in equipment from the budget to minimize increases. 

“Costs have gone through the roof — it’s out of our control,” he said. “Do yourself a favor and look at the budget online. … Do your homework — be smart, educate yourself.”

Mr. Halpin, a local pastor, countered that the last two tax cap increases motivated his supervisor run, arguing the board hasn’t done enough to generate revenue and reduce taxpayer burden.

“We’re always having these constant problems, and the entire time, [the residents] have been left out to dry,” Mr. Halpin said. “The reason the tax cap is there is to protect us. We need to have somebody in office that is making sure that those protections are done.”

The two also clashed over Riverhead’s Industrial Development Agency. Mr. Hubbard defended the IDA’s record, noting that 21 properties receiving benefits now generate $2.2 million in taxes, up from $720,000, while creating 1,362 jobs compared to just 39 before 2023.

Mr. Hubbard called the battle between development and preservation a “double-edged sword.” He suggested agritourism projects could be a solution to maintaining this balance, with 70% of land  preserved and 30% developed.

“Every piece of land that you preserve, you’ve lost that tax base. We have preserved over 17,000 acres in the Town of Riverhead, between open space and farmland preservation.” Mr. Hubbard said. “You have to have development, but you have to preserve land.”

Mr. Halpin called for stricter IDA oversight to ensure benefits target truly blighted areas instead of “continual renewals that are hurting our schools.”

Council races

The undercard battle featured incumbent councilmen Bob Kern and Ken Rothwell taking on Dems Mark Woolley, who is also Mr. Hubbard’s brother-in-law, and former FDNY firefighter Kevin Shea.

Mr. Woolley threw the first punch, referencing his opponents’ previous forum absences.

“I’m glad that the gentlemen to the left and to the right of me are here today, their political bosses allowed them to be here today,” he said.

Mr. Kern and Mr. Rothwell defended their economic development record, highlighting the town’s Emerging Technology Committee partnership with Brookhaven National Laboratory and Stony Brook University.

Mr. Rothwell said the town has preserved over 400 acres through its Transfer of Development Rights program, which allows developers to buy rights from farmers.

“If no one buys the TDRs, that becomes problematic,” he said. “That’s where we need smart development in areas like EPCAL.”

Both Republicans defended the controversial Town Square project, emphasizing flood mitigation benefits and arguing that Riverhead needs the planned hotel as tourism grows.

Mr. Woolley also blamed rising taxes and fees for motivating his campaign, calling the TDR program “basically broken” and opposing agritourism developments that pressure farmers.

Mr. Shea, who works with Cornell Cooperative Extension, backed preserving farmland while questioning high-rise buildings in the Town Square plan.

“We’ve been farmland for a long time — when we do revitalization, we can’t forget that rural character,” Mr. Shea said.

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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.

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The Riverhead town attorney’s office issued a letter to Joseph DeFigueroa on Aug. 29 demanding the immediate removal of unauthorized materials from the site. Mr. DeFigueroa runs Youngs Avenue LLC and owns the Oceanside-based waste-recycling facility and transfer station Patriot Recycling LLC.

A stop work order was issued in June ordering Youngs Avenue LLC to cease operation of its dump site after residents complained of an overwhelming odor spreading through their neighborhood. They also claimed to be experiencing an array of health problems as a result of the smell. At the time, Riverhead Town code enforcement found Young Avenue LLC in violation of town codes for the alleged “use of the property as a storage facility for mulch/yard waste with no active farming being done.”

Due to the stockpiling of mulch and related organic material, Youngs Avenue LLC must “immediately commence removal of all mulch, wood debris, and any related stockpiled material from the property to a duly licensed and permitted facility” by Sept. 29, letter read.

The owner must provide the town written proof of compliance, including disposal manifests and receipts identifying the destination facility, within five days of removal. As of press time, it is unclear if there is alternative facility to which Patriot Recycling is transporting materials.

Some community members claimed to have seen Patriot Recycling trucks bringing materials to Sandlot LLC on Cox Lane in Cutchogue. The operator of this site denied this claim and told the Riverhead News-Review in an email that Sandlot has not taken in debris from the Riverhead site. They “cannot take in unprocessed materials,” they said, only clean, DEC-tested materials.

A representative of the DEC said in an email that Patriot Recycling “may send yard trimmings to a facility authorized through exemption, registration, or permit to receive this material.” Sandlot LLC in Cutchogue is authorized to receive up to 3,000 cubic yards of yard trimmings annually and store up to 3,000 cubic yards total.

“The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is unaware of Patriot sending yard trimmings to Sandlot, or commencing cleanup, as of Sept. 15, 2025,” the DEC stated. The Riverhead News-Review reached out to Patriot Recycling for information, but did not receive a response by press time.

Youngs Avenue LLC was due in Riverhead Town Justice Court on Sept. 9, but neither Mr. DeFigueroa or his attorney, Steven Losquadro, appeared before the judge. Mr. Losquadro did not return a request for comment by press time.

During the short court conference, the Hon. Lori Hulse made note of the pile of paperwork presented to her, which consisted of letters from concerned residents.

“That was all of our paperwork that we collected and submitted, and so I was very happy to see that,” said Toqui Terchun, president of the Greater Calverton Civic Association.

Although it was disappointing that the property owner did not show, Ms. Terchun said, the acknowledgement of the filed paperwork is a testament to the seriousness of the issue and the community’s dedication to holding Patriot Recycling accountable.

“We’re not going to leave this up to the judge and the assistant town attorney [Victoria Pilo] to create the case and weigh the case,” Ms. Terchun said.

Claudette Bianco of Baiting Hollow was among the residents who helped with the paperwork compilation. She submitted her own letter to Riverhead Justice Court ahead of the scheduled arraignment, in which she expressed the misinformation circulating around the foul odors coming from the next-door Crown Recycling facility.

“Nothing could be further from the truth; the odors were there prior to the Crown fire,” Ms. Bianco wrote. “I urge the court to punish this company to the maximum penalty the law will allow. Patriot’s continued illegal activities have caused extreme distress and injury to the neighbors of this serial violator.”

Ms. Terchun asked about testing of the site at a Sept. 3 Town Board meeting, as residents were worried about the potential impact to the air, water and soil in the area. The Suffolk County Department of Health visited the Patriot property in July, but “did not see anything that they thought merited sampling,” said Riverhead town attorney Erik Howard.

The DEC also inspected the piles during the same visit, Mr. Howard said. The state agency reported that the composition of the material is within the around 0.5% limit of allowable non-organic material in the piles. However, Patriot Recycling did exceed its permitted 3,000 cubic yards of trimming by 100 cubic yards.

The next court appearance for Patriot Recycling is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 7, at 2 p.m. in Riverhead Town Justice Court.

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All vehicles on the south side and semi-trailer trucks on the north side of Youngs Avenue, including idling of any vehicles on either side, are now banned, extending from the eastern intersection with East Meadow Road to where the road ends at Osborn Avenue.

The town’s decision reflects two recent incidents that took place on Youngs Avenue this past month: the Crown Recycling Facility fire on June 4 at 472 Youngs Ave. and the dumping of unknown materials by Patriot Recycling trucks a few doors down, next to 302 Youngs Ave.

“This addresses a concern that was brought to the traffic safety committee, as well as multiple complaints from residents in the Calverton area, of trucks entering or exiting Crown Recycling Facility and parking on the side of the road,” Riverhead town attorney Erik Howard said. “Creating dangerous conditions for motorists based on the curve of the road, and particularly at times where there are school buses coming down to pick up kids in the surrounding communities from Old Orchard Road and East Meadow Road.”

Toqui Terchun, president of the Greater Calverton Civic Association, submitted a letter to the Riverhead Town Board six days before the Crown Recycling fire occurred to draw awareness to the “life-safety issue” residents were experiencing with the consistent Youngs Avenue traffic.

The memo detailed an extensive analysis of Crown’s 2022 operations plan, in which the manual stated that “no truck traffic, other than garbage trucks that collect residential waste along Youngs Avenue, will be permitted to utilize Youngs Avenue.” It also said that with adequate on-site queuing space for trucks entering and leaving the facility, “there should be no need for trucks to queue on Youngs Avenue or on any other nearby street.”

In its letter, the Greater Calverton Civic Association called the reality of the traffic on Youngs Avenue “a nightmare,” and said the semi-trucks would continuously block the flow of traffic on the public street. Due to lack of room on the site itself, the trucks would be forced to back into the property, the letter said. With photos included in its analysis, the civic claimed Crown could “not handle the amount of truck traffic that it was attracting” and used the public roadway for staging.

“I appreciate you getting right on this, and I’m sure the neighbors are going to start to feel some relief from it,” Ms. Terchun said. “Even though what we’re experiencing right now is the demise of Crown’s traffic because of their explosion — but this law will make it so the residents feel more secure going forward.”

A little way down the road on the former Warner Nursery property is Youngs Avenue LLC, run by Joseph DeFigueroa, who also owns the Oceanside-based waste-recycling facility and transfer station, Patriot Recycling LLC. 

A stop work order was issued to Youngs Avenue LLC on June 24 after several neighbors expressed concerns about an overwhelming odor spreading through their neighborhood.

The odor wasn’t the only issue. Prior to the enforcement of the stop work order, up to eight trucks would line the road outside of Bob and Carolyn Hering’s house each day since May, the couple previously said, and had idled there as early as 6 a.m. With each truck passing by or pile dumped, dust filled the air, and unpredictable winds kicked it up even more, Ms. Hering said. The smell of the diesel fuel from the trucks was also potent.

“It’s a narrow road, and these guys are parked right in the lane … right in front of my driveway, it’s a curve,” said Mr. Hering in a previous interview about the Patriot Recycling trucks. “Everybody’s speeding and then all of a sudden, they’re right on top of the truck and the trucks on the opposite side of the road are making a wide turn. Sooner or later, somebody’s going to get hurt just doing that.”

Mr. Howard confirmed that extending the parking ban to the East Meadow Road intersection with Youngs Avenue was an intentional decision because it goes beyond the Patriot Recycling property.

“I just want to thank Counselor Howard … the traffic safety committee and town attorney’s office moved very quickly on this to write it up and to put it together so we can take immediate action,” Councilman Kenneth Rothwell said.

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The project is located on 30 acres on the south side of Route 25, across from Fresh Pond Avenue in Calverton. The site, east of Splish Splash, is currently vacant. 

The applicant and its representatives have said the project will involve a new traffic signal on Route 25 and will constitute less development than the property’s current zoning allows. 

The applicants say that HK Ventures is the type of warehouse use that’s lacking on the East End. But residents have consistently argued that the project is too large and will have a negative impact on traffic. 

Raymond Ankrum, superintendent of the Riverhead Charter School in Calverton, voiced concern about the potential for added traffic on Route 25 in front of the school, where the state has set a 55 mph speed limit.. He said this a great concern for parents. 

“Any additional amount of traffic in that area is going to be a nightmare for our school,” he said. 

Claudette Bianco of Baiting Hollow said that HK Ventures has previously referred to “warehouse distribution centers”in describing its plans for the site. She said these are two different things and asked which one is being proposed. 

Scott Johns, a representative of HK Ventures, said they anticipate attracting smaller tenants. 

“It’s not a distribution center,” he said. “But a distribution center many happen if a winery takes 5,000 square feet of space.” 

He added that their business “is not going to have to be Amazon sending out 10,000 packages a day.” 

HK Ventures tried to kept the trucks  separate from the cars. 

Mr. Johns said “the need for [warehouse] space in this area is extremely high” and that there is “little to no space of this nature within a 10-mile radius.” The closest, he added, is at Gabreski Airport in Westhampton. 

HK Ventures said it has agreements in place to connect with Riverhead’s water and sewer districts. 

Toqui Terchun, president of the Greater Calverton Civic Association said the intersection of Edwards Avenue and Route 25 “has been a debacle for many years. It is hardly going to be resolved with the traffic we have now.”

The applicants have proposed to build in phases. Phase 1 would call for construction of four buildings comprising 226,469 square feet of floor area, to be occupied by various tenants. It would also include a 1,500-square-foot cafeteria intended to serve tenants’ employees. 

Phase 2 would involve construction four additional buildings totaling 186,160 square feet of floor area). The individual structures would range in size from approximately 44,100 square feet to 56,672 square feet. Those buildings are also proposed for multi-tenant occupancy, with user types differing on the east and west sides.

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