Town Board schedules Oct. 7 hearing on Zenith Building expansion

The developer of an already-approved, four-story, mixed-use apartment building downtown wants to expand the project by adding six more apartments at the corner of East Main Street and McDermott Avenue.

The Riverhead Town Board on Tuesday scheduled a public hearing for Oct. 7 at 2 p.m. on the proposed five-story expansion of the project, known as the Zenith Building. According to the resolution passed Tuesday, the addition would include 900 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and six apartments — five two-bedroom units and one three-bedroom unit. The expansion would be built on the southeast corner of McDermott Avenue and East Main Street, currently a vacant lot.

Zenith Group, the project’s developer, originally received approval for a four-story building with approximately 2,100 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and nine residential apartments — three two-bedroom units and six one-bedroom units. The board approved that final site plan in July 2023. 

If approved, the expansion would bring the project’s total to eight two-bedroom units, one three-bedroom unit, six one-bedroom units, and roughly 3,000 square feet of commercial space. 

During a June work session, Town Board members and planning staff express concern about the lack of parking for the apartments. The property is within the Riverhead Parking District, which exempts it from on-site parking requirements. Buildings in the district pay a tax that funds the maintenance of public parking facilities downtown.

Senior Planner Greg Bergman said the project would require 39 parking stalls if it was not in a parking district and noted that it provides no on-site parking. Bergman’s report stated that the town “encourages the developer to revisit the parking plan to support the proposed project.”

Martin Sendlewski, the architect for the project, said the size of the developed properties “doesn’t really allow us the luxury of having parking.” The project would be built on two parcels totaling a size of .18 acres.

Bergman said in an email Friday that the “developer reduced the ground floor commercial and now proposes two parking stalls on the ground floor.”

During the Sept. 16 meeting, the Town Board also:

• Presented a proclamation to Bill Bianchi of Bianchi-Davis Greenhouses in Riverhead for his donation of a flagpole for Veterans Memorial Park in Calverton. Supervisor Tim Hubbard said Bianchi, 94, has a “long record of public service.” He served as a state assemblyman from 1972 to 1994 and has participated on several town committees. Hubbard said the Town Board recognizes Bianchi “for his commitment to the Riverhead community and for the flagpole donation, which will serve as an eternal beacon of thanks to our veterans and all those who have sacrificed so much for our great nation. We congratulate Bill and urge all citizens to sustain public awareness of this vital individual.”

• Held a public hearing on an amendment to the special permit for the Dimon Estate restaurant property on Manor Lane. Chefs Elizabeth Ronzetti and Adam Kopels, of Southold, recently purchased the building and plan to bring their restaurant, 18 Bay, to the property. They asked the Town Board to remove a restriction prohibiting dining on the building’s second floor. Several residents spoke in support of the plan, and the Greater Jamesport Civic Association sent a letter of support. Frank Blangiardo, who lives across the street from the site, voiced objections presented “It is an expansion of a pre-existing, non conforming use — when your last resolution clearly states no further expansion. Period,” Blangiardo said. He also complained of “festival lights” on the property which he said violated the town’s “dark skies law.”

• Accepted the resignation of Town Board Coordinator Dianne Tucci. Tucci told RiverheadLOCAL in a text she resigned “due to personal reasons. I’ve absolutely loved working at town hall with the board and the community and it’s been an incredibly rewarding and educational experience,” she said. Board members thanked Tucci for her work. “Diane, over the past years, has been very instrumental in a lot of the projects that we’re doing and helping [keep] things organized, and telling us where we got to go, where we got to be, helping write up resolutions, researching documents,” said Council Member Ken Rothwell. “She’s been an immense help. I hope that she is prosperous in her new beginnings here on forward, and I wish you the best of luck,” he said.

• Held a public hearing on legislation to impose strict limits on the use of electric bicycles in Riverhead Town. The legislation expands a 2021 local law regulating electric scooters to also cover e-bikes, or “bicycles with electric assist.” It would cap e-bike speeds at 15 mph, ban riding on sidewalks and prohibit e-bike use between a half-hour after sunset and a half-hour before sunrise. The law would also ban e-bike from Main Street between Court Street and Route 58 and codify in town law several state laws related to e-bikes, including that they are prohibited from driving on roads with speed limits over 30 mph. Read more here. There were no public comments.

• Held a public hearing on an amendment to Chapter 289: Vehicles, Traffic and Parking Regulations, to prohibit “any commercial vehicle or trailers equipped with a dump body or tipper bed used for the transport of aggregate or construction debris” from parking on the north side of Youngs Avenue in Calverton. There were no public comments.

• Held a public hearing on another amendment to Chapter 289 to add a definition for “local delivery.” Town officials said during a work session that the change would help enforce weight limits for large vehicles on town roads. Commercial or delivery vehicles on a weight-restricted road would be required to provide proof of a local delivery, and failure to do so would result in a violation. There were no public comments.

• Held a public hearing on legislation to prohibit non-electric bicycles from using the sidewalks along Route 58 between Kroemer Avenue and East Main Street/Doctors Path. There were no public comments.

• Approved a budget adjustment of $50,000 for the $170,000 settlement offer to SNR Bar 25 Corp., the operating entity of Craft’d. A judge last month granted the town’s petition to acquire SNR Bar 25 Corp’s leasehold interest through eminent domain. The settlement satisfies the government’s legal obligation to provide “just compensation” to the owner of any real estate interest taken using eminent domain. Read more here.

• Appointed three part-time police officers — Tyler Criscuolo, Gavin McIntyre and Ryan Ott — and placed them on a leave of absence until they complete the necessary training at the Suffolk County Police Academy.

• Reappointed Jeanne Hogan to the Board of Assessment Review through Sept. 30, 2030. 

• Approved Chapter 229 application for export of materials at the following locations: 61 Main Road for a self storage facility; 1105 Old Country Road for a new medical office; and 1125 Old Country Road for site improvements.

• Authorized a settlement agreement with Kar-McVeigh LLC and Matthew Kar in a lawsuit brought by the town related to the non-conforming restaurant/catering use at the Dimon Estate. Under the agreement, both parties will discontinue the lawsuit, which had been ruled in favor of the town in both Suffolk County Supreme Court and the court’s Appellate Division. The defendants are required to pay the town $3,750 for civil penalties asserted in the town’s claim, according to the settlement. 

• Authorized the eighth amendment to the town’s agreement with the U.S. Geological Survey to continue providing hydrological data to the Riverhead Water District for another year.

• Adopted a local law amending Chapter 301 of the Town Code to increase the maximum allowable fine for violations of an approved site plan to $3,000, from $1,000.

• Approved the dedication of Cedar Cove Court, located on the west side of West Lane in Aquebogue, as a town highway.

• Authorized the suspension of an unnamed employee following the service of disciplinary charges, and appointed Robert Draffin as the hearing officer with respect to the Section 75 Hearing.