Riverhead Town has filed a lawsuit to recover title to the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall property.
The town’s summons and complaint was filed Aug. 2 in Suffolk County Supreme Court seeking a court order granting title to the town under a “reverter clause” in the 1982 deed from the town to the Council for the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall. The clause requires the property to be used for the educational, recreational or cultural purposes and it requires the council to maintain the building’s historic character.
The building, constructed in 1881, was purchased by the Riverhead Community Development Agency in 1980 and conveyed to the Council for the Vail Leavitt in March 1982.
The complaint states that, despite the town’s efforts to help the council prepare an application for a share of the $10 million downtown revitalization state grant awarded to Riverhead in 2021, the Council for the Vail Leavitt did not complete a business plan and could not apply for a share of the downtown revitalization award.
The town and the Council for the Vail Leavitt asked Steward Preservation Services to provide recommendations for repairs and restoration of the building. Steward provided 20 pages of recommendations, according to the complaint. The recommendations would cost in excess of $200,000, the complaint states.
Council for the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall President William Miller said the organization has not been served with the summons and complaint and declined comment.
Town board members authorized the lawsuit in May. Officials at the time complained about the Council for the Vail-Leavitt’s stewardship of the property over the years, as well as the council’s alleged failure to seek funding for required repairs and renovations.
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