Former Town Hall, future site of Riverhead Justice Court, dedicated in memory of Judge Allen Smith

The Riverhead Town Board dedicated the future site of the town’s new justice court to the late Judge Allen Smith in a ceremony of tears and laughter on Tuesday.

Although the dedication is permanent, the plaque was temporary. It will be replaced with a permanent dedication shortly, according to Riverhead Town Supervisor Yvette Aguiar. It reads: 

“In honor and recognition of the immeasurable contributions of Honorable Allen M. Smith, Lifelong Public Servant to the Town of Riverhead.”

The new justice court will be located in the former Town Hall, at 200 Howell Avenue.

Smith was an accomplished jurist and a highly respected member of the community. He served two terms as town attorney, two terms as town supervisor (1976-1979) and from 2000 until his death in 2020, he served as town justice. He was honored by the Suffolk County Criminal Bar Association as “Judge of the Year” in 2010. A former member of the Riverhead Board of Education, he was also an active member of the Riverhead Fire Department for 46 years and was a 51-year member of the Rotary Club of Riverhead. 

Supervisor Yvette Aguiar said that the court was being dedicated to Smith for his “long-term dream to have a justice court complex.”

“It’s finally coming to fruition,” Aguiar said. “His dream is now a reality,” she said.

Some of Smith’s friends were invited to the podium to speak in his honor.

“LeBron, Michael, Allen,” Smith’s friend and fellow attorney Peter Danowski said. “You never needed to know the last name.” 

Danowski recognized Smith as a force in Riverhead’s politics and town functions. Danowski also told stories of Smith and his family, making playful jabs at the Smith children, who were in attendance.

“Jake went and majored, according to his father, in climbing the Carpathian mountains,” Danowski said. “Allen sent his other son to run naked through the streets of Japan… And then, the other boy, he sent to Australia to learn a second language.”

After getting some laughs from the crowd, Danowski shared his own feelings. 

“One thing he cared about was the town,” Danowski said. “Allen was a straight shooter, and a great guy.”

Next, Jonathan Brown, another longtime colleague of Smith, took the stand. 

He lauded Smith’s professional dedication and deep understanding of the way that the town works. He spoke of their deep friendship and professional relationship.

“I’ve been a lifelong friend of the [Smith] family,” Brown said. “As corny as it sounds, I met them in the parsonage.” Brown talked about how Smith mentored him and guided him in some of his life decisions. 

“When I first came to work for him as a lowly intern, it was in this building,” Brown said. “He was my friend, my confidant, my mentor… I know he would be very proud and pleased to have his name on this building.”

Jacob Smith and Charlene Mascia, Allen Smith’s domestic partner, unveiled the temporary plaque.

The late town justice made it his mission to have the town court move to new quarters for safety concerns. Joined first by Justice Richard Ehlers and, after Ehlers’ retirement, by Justice Lori Hulse, Smith repeatedly pressed the Town Board over many years to replace the existing justice court, a cramped facility built in 1985 that shares the one-story 16,000-square-foot building at 210 Howell Avenue with the Riverhead Police Department.  

The Town Board this year purchased a complex of buildings on West Second Street for $20 million with the idea of consolidating town offices in the new, more spacious, Town Hall at 4 West Second Street and renovating and relocating the old Town Hall for use as a justice court.

Plans for renovating the former Town Hall, including needed roof and HVAC repairs or replacement, have not yet been drawn, Council Member Tim Hubbard said in an interview this week. He said he hoped the work could be completed and the court facility could relocate there by the end of 2023.