Residents in downtown Riverhead have created a new civic association to give themselves a unified voice on the issues affecting their neighborhoods.
The Heart of Riverhead Civic Association is co-founded by writer and activist Steve Kramer, winemaker and former town board candidate Juan Micieli-Martinez, and public relations professional and Anti-bias Task Force co-chair Cindy Clifford.
The coverage area of the civic is wide — stretching from Route 58 on the north to the town’s boundaries at the Peconic River on the south, and from Mill Road on the west to Route 105 on the east.
“It’s been a longtime coming,” Kramer said in an interview Monday. “I’ve lived in downtown Riverhead since 1997 and just always looked around and saw some of the Jamesport civics, the Calverton civics, being very active and I always wondered, where’s our downtown civic?”
Kramer said the idea of creating a civic association was made a priority recently after a fire at a historical home on Second Street downtown killed five people last fall.
Kramer said the civic has around 15-20 committed members so far, and will be focused on building a community downtown, participating in activities that better the area, and advocating for the interests of the residents at Town Hall.
“I feel steamrolled by the town board, the town government lately,” Kramer said. “So are we against development downtown? No, we’re not against development downtown, but we’re about smart development. We’re about making sure that we have the parking resources available, that we have the water resources available, the sewer resources, the police resources available, because the other large multifamily buildings that have been put in downtown have specifically stressed all of those resources.”
The civic will probably end up pushing back on a few projects downtown, Kramer said, including a firearms training facility proposed for the corner of Elton and East Main streets, which he said is not popular, according to polling he’s done in that area.
“There’s a lot of things I think that, as a group, we can advocate more effectively than each individual group of residents trying to do all that work themselves,” Kramer said. “The hope is, as issues arise in different parts of downtown, that we’re able to come and help people advocate for themselves effectively.”
The civic’s first official meeting will be at the Riverhead Free Library on Saturday, May 14 at 11 a.m.. Kramer said the first meeting will be used mostly for introductions and identifying issues specific to different neighborhoods in the area.
“I can’t speak for the folks in Polish town, or the folks off Mill Road or Riverside Drive,” Kramer said. “Everybody’s got different challenges and we want to hear what those challenges are too, so that we’re responsive to all of the communities downtown. It’s a big area and we know that everybody has their own issues that need attention.”
The annual membership for the civic association will be $25 for residents within the drawn boundaries, $50 for businesses and $25 for friends outside the boundaries. “Most meetings will be open to all, but only resident members will have a vote,” a press release announcing the civic states.
“This new civic association grew from the discomfort that many long-term plans are being made by people who don’t live in or even near our downtown district,” Clifford said in the press release. “Every neighbor we’ve approached so far is 100% in favor of joining together to offer input, ideas and our invaluable firsthand viewpoint to the decision lakers in town hall.”
“Advocating for and supporting the downtown community is our central goal, but there will also be a social/community building aspect that is just as important,” Micieli-Martinez said in the press release. “Riverhead is a great place for families, we need to emphasize and build on that.”
“We have a very diverse community here downtown that ends up on the short end of the stick,” Kramer said. “And we’re just looking to build on that and strengthen that and make Riverhead a better place.”
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