Riverhead Town’s decision Tuesday to pull the plug on the EPCAL land deal means the future of the enterprise park will be decided in court, a spokesperson for Calverton Aviation and Technology said in a statement sent to RiverheadLOCAL Wednesday.
“It is literally tragic that the Town of Riverhead has diverted the enormous economic future of Calverton and sent it to the court house for what will likely be years to come,” Gary Lewi, a spokesperson for CAT/Triple Five said in an emailed statement Wednesday. The “eventual outcome for the town will be problematic,” he predicted.
The Town Board wasted no time showing Calverton Aviation & Technology the exit after the Riverhead Industrial Development Agency denied CAT’s application for financial assistance Monday night. Board members unanimously passed a resolution at a special meeting Tuesday afternoon declaring the contract null and void. An agreement signed by the town and CAT in March 2022 said the town would have the right to end the contract in the event of an IDA denial, subject only to the return of the $ 1 million contract down payment to CAT.
“The facts, the law, and the record will demonstrate that CAT Triple Five has the legal right to develop this property and to create the promised well-paying jobs detailed in our various applications,” CAT’s spokesperson Lewi said in the statement emailed yesterday.
The town’s decision was made with “unseemly haste,” Lewi said. Instead of taking the opportunity to “fast track the creation of a 21st Century economy,” he said, the town has “chosen a path that will further delay the enormous potential of EPCAL for what might be a generation.”
Reached for comment today, Supervisor Yvette Aguiar was unfazed by CAT’s statement.
“We’re not going to respond to threats,” Aguiar said in a phone interview this afternoon.
“The Town Board has legally exercised its right pursuant to a binding purchase contract and letter agreement. Both specifically indicate the town has the right to declare the Agreement of Sale dated Nov. 19, 2018 null and void,” Aguiar said.
The March 2, 2022 letter agreement, which amended the Nov. 19, 2018 contract of sale, says “there shall be no liability on the part of any party” if the seller exercises its right to cancel the contract following a denial by the Riverhead IDA.
“The town will vigorously defend its contractual right to terminate the contract, and vigorously respond to and defend the town against any lawsuit,” Aguiar said.
Council Member Tim Hubbard said he would not comment on “what Triple Five might or might not do.”
“I stand by the decision the town has made and will support same,” Hubbard said.
In its November 2018 contract of sale with CAT, approved by a lame-duck Town Board in December 2017, the town agreed to sell the developer 1,644 acres of vacant, industrially zoned land within the Calverton Enterprise Park for $40 million.
Closing of the deal was hung up when the town, due to regulatory issues with the State Department of Environmental Conservation, was unable to complete the land subdivision required to transfer title of the land, which is part of a 2,103-acre parcel owned by the Riverhead Community Development Agency.
In February 2022, town officials announced an agreement with CAT that would allow the deal to move forward if the Riverhead Industrial Development Agency approved CAT’s application for financial assistance to develop the site. The March 2, 2022 letter agreement reflected the new arrangement.
Aguiar said Tuesday the town’s outside counsel, Riverhead attorney Frank Isler, was holding the down payment in escrow and would handle returning the down payment to the purchaser’s attorney.
“The town will continue to protect our right to bring critical economic development to the EPCAL property as intended, be it through sale or lease,” the supervisor said today.
“The Ghermezians are proving the point EPCAL Watch has made consistently since the qualified and eligible hearing in 2018,” EPCAL Watch coordinator John McAuliff said, referring to the family that owns the Triple Five conglomerate.
“For six years and until recently Riverhead Republicans were their consistent enablers,” McAuliff said. “Voters need to decide which candidates for supervisor and the board are more likely to resist a Triple Five suit and attendant threats,” he said.
The survival of local journalism depends on your support.
We are a small family-owned operation. You rely on us to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible. Just a few dollars can help us continue to bring this important service to our community.
Support RiverheadLOCAL today.
