A Patriot Recycling truck carrying materials entered the former Warner Nursery site on Youngs Avenue this afternoon, in spite of the posted stop-work order on the fence at the entrance, prompting a visit from Riverhead Police.
The stop-work order was posted on the fence next to the gate earlier today, Riverhead Town Attorney Erik Howard told RiverheadLOCAL.
MORE COVERAGE: Riverhead issues new stop-work order to Youngs Avenue composting operation
The truck driver parked his idling vehicle in the road at about 4 p.m., looked over the posted document, returned to his truck and then went back and unlocked the gate, according to neighbor Bob Hering, who said he witnessed the activity.
As the truck was about to exit the property, a Riverhead Police Department patrol unit arrived. The officer could be seen standing outside the fence, talking on a cell phone while reading the order posted on the fence. The officer did not appear to write a summons before he left the entrance. The driver walked back to his rig empty-handed.
Riverhead Police Chief Ed Frost could not immediately be reached for comment.
After the officer left, the driver pulled off the site, parked the truck in the road and walked across the road to lock the gate.
The patrol officer was then observed speaking with Hering and his wife in the driveway of the Herings’ Youngs Avenue home.
The dumping and composting operation on the site has drawn complaints from area residents over the past two months, since the town issued a use permit for a tree farm at the site. The composting is supposed to be accessory to the principal use of agricultural production.
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Hering said later the police are “waiting for code enforcement.”
The town’s code enforcement division, rather than the police department, typically handles issuing summonses for violations of stop-work orders and other town code provisions.
Steven Losquadro, attorney for Patriot owner Joe DeFigueroa, could not immediately be reached for comment.
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