Board votes to sell historic Riverhead theater amid rare public dispute between two council members

The Riverhead Town Board voted 4–1 Tuesday night to sell the historic Vail-Leavitt Music Hall to The Jazz Loft, a decision that followed more than a year of quiet negotiations and competing proposals and brought a brief but pointed disagreement to the surface during the meeting.

A sharp difference of opinion between council members Bob Kern and Denise Merrifield came to the surface during a back and forth with a representative of another group that sought to purchase the circa-1881 theater.

Town officials had been privately discussing turning the theater over to The Jazz Loft for a year or more before the board voted 3-2 in April to negotiate a contract with the nonprofit.  After the April 15 board vote, from which Kern and Council Members Ken Rothwell dissented, Supervisor Tim Hubbard, who supported the move, said the town had been working on a deal with The Jazz Loft for 16 months at that point. 

“So if somebody else wants to put a proposal together, they put the proposal together,” Hubbard said that night, responding to the dissenting members, who advocated for the town seeking other proposals. “I wouldn’t wait too long, because it’s only been 16 months already that we’ve been working on this; and I’m not looking to go another 16 months.”

Last night, Kern again pressed the point about seeking other proposals, raising concerns that The Jazz Loft did not have the resources or expertise needed to renovate, open and operate the theater in a way that will benefit downtown revitalization.

During a public comment period on resolutions being considered by the board last night, representatives of a competing group asked the board not to approve the sale to The Jazz Loft and complained about the board’s process in selecting the buyer and about how the board handled their own proposal.

Mark Chroscielewski said The Jazz Loft had “just $286,000 in liquid assets” and that the restoration would require “multi-million dollar” investment, including life-safety upgrades. “Does that sound like a stable business plan to you? Not to me,” he told the board. 

He also questioned why the town did not issue an RFP. “We were never given a proper RFP” outlining criteria for a proposal, he said. 

Town Attorney Erik Howard replied that the town had followed the law. No RFP is required for the town to sell property within a designated urban renewal are, as long as the buyer is determined by the town to be “qualified and eligible” to buy the property and use it in a manner consistent with the town’s urban renewal plan.

Chroscielewski’s associate, Thomas Glennon, speaking via Zoom, said his group had worked with an architect and concluded the building would require significant upgrades. “It’s going to take at least $500,000 to a million dollars to put in a new sprinkler system…to put in an ADA-compliant elevator…to make it code compliant,” he said. He questioned whether The Jazz Loft had performed similar due diligence. 

Merrifield, a consistent supporter of the Jazz Loft proposal, pushed back strongly against remarks made by Chroscielewski.

“You stated that this project was going to require millions of dollars. It’s not true,” she said. The town heard from historic restoration specialist Joel Snodgrass as the board investigated The Jazz Loft’s ability to take on the Vail-Leavitt project, Merrifield said. The work required will cost $300,000 not millions of dollars, she said. 

Merrifield told Chroscielewski that his group’s repeated, shifting proposals caused delays that prevented The Jazz Loft from pursuing some funding opportunities. 

“You kept coming back…with different proposals one after another,” she said. “Sometimes you were going to be a not-for-profit, sometimes you were a for-profit. Sometimes you were with Mr. Ray Castonova, sometimes you were not… That’s what slowed up this process,” an animated Merrifield said. 

She further rejected Chroscielewski’s characterization of The Jazz Loft’s capabilities. “To say that this is a business that doesn’t know what it’s doing is really disingenuous,” Merrifield said. “It’s 10 years in operation, already fully functioning, huge audiences all the time.” 

Before voting, Kern reiterated concerns he had raised throughout the process, arguing the town had not received sufficient detail from The Jazz Loft about the scope and cost of required improvements.

“I agree with what was said earlier,” Kern said, referring to Chroscielewski’s and Glennon’s objections. “There’s no talk about a sound engineer. There’s no talk about sound equipment. No ADA compliant elevator. There’s no architectural anything on the interior renovation, the bathrooms,” Kern said. After reviewing the submission, “there’s nothing financial there.” 

Kern said the theater requires substantial work if it is to serve as a true performing arts venue that can draw visitors downtown. “I think they’re great at jazz, but in terms of running a performing arts center which is going to benefit the town…I vote no.” 

Rothwell voted in favor of the sale. He explained his change of heart by citing the people who had come forward to support The Jazz Loft.

“In the final hours, they have philanthropists in town that have validated the work that they were doing, and intend to stand by them,” Rothwell said. He noted that those supporters “have invested themselves in other projects within our town that have become very successful.” With that backing, he said, “the Jazz Loft could be successful.” 

Merrifield and Council Member Joann Waski voted yes.

Before voting in favor of The Jazz Loft, the supervisor agreed with Rothwell, saying the individuals who stepped forward “would not have stood up in recognition of this project if they didn’t truly believe in it.” Hubbard called the Vail-Leavitt restoration “a great addition to the downtown.” 

The  resolution, which determines The Jazz Loft “qualified and eligible” for purposes of the State Urban Renewal Law  and authorizes the supervisor to sign the previously negotiated contract of sale, passed by a vote of 4–1.

Under that contract, the town agrees to sell the Vail-Leavitt theater to The Jazz Loft for $150,000 and The Jazz Loft agrees to perform renovations and repairs to the building, maintaining it historic character, and to operate the theatre as a performing arts venue.