Portrait of late Town Justice Allen Smith unveiled in Riverhead Justice Court

A portrait of the late Town Justice Allen Smith was unveiled during a ceremony in Riverhead Justice Court yesterday afternoon.

Smith, 77, who served on the town bench for 20 years, died suddenly on July 25, 2020.

His portrait hangs on the wall behind the jury box next to a portrait of Justice Henry Saxtein, whom Smith replaced on the town bench after Saxtein’s death in 2000 at age 50.

Master portrait artist Vicki Sullivan of Melbourne, Australia was commissioned for the oil on linen portrait. Funding for the work was raised by Smith’s friends and colleagues.

Family, friends and colleagues of the late town justice gathered in the tiny courtroom for the ceremony, while others watched via Zoom. His colleages shared reflections on Smith’s service to the town and his work to elevate the town court.

“I think that Judge Smith would be pleased that we’re all here,” said Jonathan Brown, a friend and colleague. “I see so many of you that he knew and appreciated as a friend, a client, a colleague all these years. I know that Judge Smith felt warmly towards all,” Brown said. “He was a friend and mentor to many of us,” he said, citing Smith’s “generosity of spirit.”

Riverhead Justice Lori Hulse, who joined Smith on the bench in 2016, spoke of his professionalism and dedication to the court.

“Allen was a great judge and a great man. The court has not been and will not be the same without him,” Hulse said of the court’s senior judge. “Allen embodied all of the qualities any town could hope for in a town justice. Allen was intelligent. He understood the law and the court’s role as its keeper. He had common sense. He understood the people of Riverhead and he never lost sight of fairness and justice,” Hulse said.

The judge recalled how Smith mentored her when she first took her seat on the bench. “He was collegial and kind,” she said. “He welcomed me with kindness. He always offered me his treasure trove of knowledge. He would say to me, ‘Let Uncle Allen help,’” she said, eliciting laughter from the audience. “He was a gentleman in the truest sense of the word,” Hulse said.

“Allen would listen to all points of view. And he was not afraid to change his mind or bend when he felt that it was correct to do so. He was equally unafraid to stand firm,” Hulse said.

Hulse and retired Town Justice Richard Ehlers both spoke of Smith’s long crusade to have the town’s court facilities replaced — a mission that would remain unfulfilled in his lifetime.

“He recognized the need not only for safety and security. And because this courtroom here is terribly inadequate in almost every way, but because it meant something to him to have the work we do here recognize as important to those who come before us,” Hulse said.

Ehlers, who together with Smith asked the town board multiple times over the years to replace the justice court facility for safety and security reasons, as well as to improve the functionality of the busy local court.

“Allen put his heart into the building, as I did,” Ehlers said. “And we were led to believe, by the town board when they hired the architect, that we were picking the design of the new building at the armory, up on Route 58 and it would be built,” Ehlers said, referring to the former state armory deeded to the town by the state in 2011 for construction of a new police and court complex. But it was not to be, as town board members balked at the expenditure.

“And it broke his heart when we had to face the reality that they didn’t have the willpower. They didn’t have the gumption to do it,” Ehlers said.

“It’s easy not to have gumption for this court because a lot of the people we service here aren’t attractive. We are not a place where the fancy people come. Fancy people don’t sit where you’re sitting today. I would wager that if you’re not an attorney, you probably haven’t sat in these pews before,” Ehlers said.

“It’s really kind of a measure here. We come down. We put Allen on the wall — and it’s a beautiful portrait — and he deserves to be there and it’s wonderful thing. But he deserves to be in a better room. He deserves to be in a proper courtroom that fits the stature of him as an attorney and as a judge, and my work here and the current judges’ work here, and the clerks’ work here,” Ehlers said. “It really broke his heart and and it took the steam out of me,” said Ehlers, who retired from the bench in 2015.

Turning to Smith’s portrait, Ehlers addressed his former colleague directly. “Thank you, Allen, for all you did for the court. Thank you for what you’ve done. But now I hope every time you look out here, and you see the elected officials who can elevate the building to the proper facilities that are needed for our community, that it will be accomplished,” he said.

Members of the town board were present for the ceremony but did not speak.

Southampton Town Justice Deborah Kooperstein, who with Smith established and ran the East End Drug Court, reflected on the time she spent with him in that endeavor — the debates they’d have, the laughs they shared. “He was a great storyteller,” Kooperstein recalled. “He was always found something to laugh about.” But Smith was not a man to mince words. “You always knew where you stood with him,” the judge said. “And he didn’t suffer fools.”

Charlene Mascia, Smith’s domestic partner, took a moment to speak publicly to his children, thanking them for allowing her to be part of their family. She paid homage to his late wife, Janice, for supporting Smith throughout his career. “So thank you guys. Thank you for sharing your dad with all of us. I love you so much,” she said.

The Rev. Anton DeWet, pastor at Old Steeple Community Church, where Smith was a congregant, offered an invocation to start the ceremony and a blessing at its conclusion.

He thanked the justices and the court staff for the work they do for the community.

“I’m going to read this blessing as though it’s coming from Allen to all of us,” he said. “May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon your fields. Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.”