The Riverhead Town Board on Tuesday scheduled public hearings to acquire the East Main Street building owned by the Long Island Science Center and to buy out the lease of the downtown bar Craft’d using the town’s power of eminent domain.
Resolutions setting the public hearings were passed unanimously by the board, although Supervisor Tim Hubbard said he would invite the Long Island Science Center’s board members to meet at a work session next week — opening up the possibility that the town will work with the nonprofit on on its plans to open a new museum. The town would also help find Craft’d a spot to relocate, he said.
The eminent domain actions, if successful, will allow the town to convey the two buildings on either side of a new town square, the centerpiece of Riverhead’s downtown revitalization initiative, to private developers for demolition and redevelopment. Plans for the town square project include a boutique hotel and condominiums, a public plaza, a playground and an amphitheater.
The public hearings, which are scheduled for the board’s May 21 meeting at 6 p.m., “will afford a reasonable opportunity for all interested persons to make objections and recommendations” about the eminent domain actions, according to the resolutions. The state’s Eminent Domain Law requires a municipality to hold a public hearing on the proposed acquisition before it can bring a lawsuit to acquire the property.
| MORE COVERAGE: Riverhead moving on eminent domain actions targeting Craft’d bar, L.I. Science Center building |
Both Craft’d co-owner Sean Kenna and Long Island Science Center President Larry Oxman attended the meeting Tuesday, but only Kenna addressed the board. Kenna, a business leader downtown, expressed disappointment about what he said was a communication breakdown between him and the town.
“I just invested a lot of money downtown, and now I’m getting treated like I didn’t do anything downtown, you know?” said Kenna, who also co-owns a downtown building and the pizzeria Cucina 25. “And that’s just my opinion about this whole scenario… The communication definitely fell off at some point. I’m not sure where because — Again, I respect everybody on this board. I have no issues with anyone.”
Hubbard said he “had a conversation with a couple people earlier today that you might be interested in hearing about,” and told Kenna to speak with him after the meeting.
Hubbard said the town has worked with Kenna to try to find alternative locations for Craft’d.
“So to say this took you by surprise, it’s a little bit disingenuous,” Hubbard said.
The town purchased 127 East Main Street, where Craft’d is currently operating, in 2021 along with two other buildings for $2.65 million. The goal of the purchase was to create the town square. The town must acquire the leasehold interest from Craft’d’s operating entity, SNR Bar 25 Corp, in order to transfer the building to the town square’s master developer, J. Petrocelli Development Associates, which plans to demolish the building and construct a hotel and condominiums on the site.
Kenna said he likes the town square, but dislikes the lack of communication from the town. “We love the project. I love the idea of it. Let’s make it happen. You know, simple as that, I just don’t like having to come to this podium to speak my voice,” he said.
Councilman Ken Rothwell said he wants Craft’d downtown, but, “The new town square is imperative for the financial success of all downtown [and] Main Street,” he said.
During the Town Board’s vote to set the eminent domain hearing for the science center building, Hubbard announced that the town will schedule a work session with the science center’s board on Thursday, April 10.
In response to a resident’s comment about the science center, Hubbard said, “There’s a lot of work been going on behind the scenes, but we don’t run and put it into the media, because it gets twisted a lot of times before things are finalized,” he said. “So we prefer to do our work, and when we’re ready, we present it.”
| MORE COVERAGE: L.I. Science Center: Town is obstructing museum plans, as Riverhead inches closer to taking Main Street building |
The Long Island Science Center purchased the building at 111 East Main Street in April 2020 for $1.45 million with plans to create a new museum. Then-Supervisor Yvette Aguiar at the time hailed the purchase as a “heart transplant” for downtown Riverhead. Riverhead Town was negotiating to buy three buildings east of the science center for the town square, on which the science center would build an entrance.
Oxman has accused town officials of obstructing the nonprofit’s plan to build a new museum. He said officials have blocked necessary permits and repairs to renovate the building, previously Swezey’s Department Store, and are intent on taking the property. Town building and planning officials, however, say the building is severely damaged and poses a “danger to the public.” The town seeks to sell or lease the property to a developer with the condition that it be demolished and redeveloped consistent with the town’s downtown revitalization goals — such as a mixed-use condominium and hotel, similar to what’s proposed across the town square, according to town documents.
Council Member Ken Rothwell, before voting to set the public hearing, said the science center has put forward “absolutely incredible” designs of what a museum could look like on the town square. Rothwell said the town is concerned that the building is “a potential hazard” on Main Street; the science center should “come up with an immediate proposal to put forth before the board for reconstruction of that site.”
“I urge the Long Island Science Center to please come forward with those points and how they are doing financially to enable that process to take place,” Rothwell said. “But in the meantime, we’ll go to a public hearing and see what the general public has to say.”
A Change.org petition has been started with the goal of convincing the Town Board to support the science center’s plans for the East Main Street building. It currently has around 250 signatures.
“The dream of my eight year old daughter is to grow up to be an engineer. She would love to have more opportunity to access adequate educational materials, larger maker spaces, and more frequent after school programs at the Long Island Science Center,” Riverhead resident Melissa Mapes wrote in the petition.
“She is one of thousands of kids on Long Island who have a deep passion for science. A 2016 study by the AmGen Foundation and Change the Equation found that 81% of teens are interested in science,” the petition says. “The current leased building for the LISC cannot accommodate the size and demand of children looking to access those amenities.”
Oxman, who did not speak at Tuesday’s meeting, had previously said communication between the science center and the town had broken down, and that his previous attempts to get on the work session agenda had failed.
The Town Board Tuesday also approved an agreement with Goodman-Marks Associates, Inc. to generate updated appraisal reports for 127 and 111 East Main Street.
Eminent domain law allows a municipal government under certain circumstances to acquire ownership of property or interests in property where the owner is not willing to sell. The law requires the government to provide “just compensation” to the owner. Just compensation is determined by a court in an eminent domain proceeding. Appraisal reports are necessary to determine the fair market value for the property and the leasehold interest.
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