Most Riverhead Town buildings and many recreational facilities will remain closed through July 31 under the latest emergency order signed today by Supervisor Yvette Aguiar.
Riverhead Town Hall, the town justice court, the building and planning department and the recreation department will continue to be open to the public “on a limited basis” through July 31, according to the state of emergency order, the 23rd order issued by the supervisor since the COVID crisis began in March. Other town buildings remain closed to the public.
Baseball, softball and soccer fields, as well as the skatepark and hockey rink will remain closed through July 31, the order states. Concessions will also remain closed.
The town supervisor said this evening the town will be “relaxing the restrictions” on field use “in five days” because the governor’s executive order allows youth sports to resume on July 6.
The Riverhead Little League is planning to begin team practices on July 8 and resume games for a limited season shortly thereafter, Riverhead Little League president Jeremy Savio said this evening.
“The town parks department told us they’d open up on the 8th.” Savio said.
Savio said Riverhead Little League has been working hard to gear up for a late start to a truncated season — complete with rules to ensure player safety.
The league has developed rules to protect players’ health, such as not opening dugouts and requiring players to remain six feet apart in marked spaces along the fence. There will be no sharing of equipment, no handshakes or high fives and mandatory use of hand sanitizer. The league bought a lot of new equipment to make sure there’s enough to go around without sharing, Savio said.
“Our biggest thing is, we want to make sure the kids are OK,” Savio said.
Beaches, dog parks, playgrounds, the EPCAL recreation trail and bathrooms will remain open, subject to face covering and social distancing requirements. Open space park areas throughout town will remain open for passive recreation uses.
All town meetings are canceled through July 6, except the July 2 town board work session and the July 2 planning board meeting, according to the new emergency order.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional information provided post-publication regarding the expected reopening of baseball and softball fields for youth sports as of July 5.
Town of Riverhead State of Emergency Order No. 23 by RiverheadLOCAL on Scribd
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