Future of Alive on 25 uncertain as Riverhead officials weigh costs, business impact

Alive on 25 could return this year, but Riverhead Town Board members signaled Thursday that the downtown street festival’s future is uncertain as officials weigh business impacts, police costs and whether a different event might better support Main Street during ongoing downtown construction.

The issue came before the board at its March 26 work session after Council Member Joann Waski sought the board’s direction on whether the event will move forward again this year, citing concerns about construction impacts and police costs.

Waski said she had been in contact with Diane Tucci, who produced the event last year after the Business Improvement District Management Association decided not to handle it anymore. Waski said she and Tucci discussed those concerns and Tucci has developed an alternative footprint for the popular street festival on West Second Street, modeled on the layout implemented for the Community Mosaic Street-Painting Festival on West Second Street last year.

But the board discussion quickly revealed a divide over whether Alive on 25 remains the right fit for downtown this year.

Supervisor Jerry Halpin said he attended a meeting on Wednesday with representatives of the Riverhead Business Improvement District Management Association, the Riverhead Chamber of Commerce and the East End Arts Council. The general sentiment was that Alive on 25 may not be the best use of time and resources in a year already crowded with events and complicated by downtown construction, Halpin said.

Some participants in the meeting felt the festival did not benefit brick-and-mortar businesses enough to justify the disruption and that food trucks may have drawn spending away from local restaurants, the supervisor said. He said he has gotten similar feedback from others involved in the organizations.

“And basically, the general sense that we’ve gotten back is we have a lot going on this year. We have America 250 programming, the cardboard boat race, the Mosaic Festival and the Halloween Fest, which everyone thinks is a driver for our businesses, but they just didn’t feel like Alive on 25 was something of necessity that was driving enough to the downtown businesses,” Halpin said.   

“I would completely disagree with that statement,” Council Member Ken Rothwell said.  Alive on 25 has been a proven draw for restaurants and shops and should not be shelved based on that assessment, he said.

“Over the past years, restaurants like Digger’s —It’s one of the few nights that you can’t get a table. And Cucina and all the other downtown restaurants, they flourish during Alive on 25,” he said. The event is a great way for other breweries and other businesses that are not on Main Street to promote themselves, too, Rothwell said.

Council Member Denise Merrifield also questioned whether the benefits of last summer’s event were being undervalued, pointing to pub crawls that followed the street festival and appeared to help bars and other establishments after the official program ended. Waski agreed that aspect had been successful.

Waski said Tucci had also proposed moving Alive on 25 to Thursdays instead of a Friday or Saturday night, arguing that a weekday event could help drive customers downtown on a slower business night.

Councilman Bob Kern said he would not support another Friday-night event and noted that closing Main Street can cost between $17,000 and $19,000 in police coverage. He said Police Chief Ed Frost has indicated a preference for future events centered in Town Square, where enforcement demands would be lower. That location is off-limits until the Petrocelli Hotel and town square construction is completed. Kern also questioned whether West Second Street is long enough to accommodate an event the size of Alive on 25.

Halpin said that alternatively, the police chief would prefer a shortened Main Street closure ending at Roanoke Avenue so traffic could continue to flow. Waski said that would cut off part of the downtown strip, including the area near Digger’s and Cucina. 

Rothwell argued that Riverhead should not shy away from drawing people to Main Street at a time when downtown is visibly changing.

“Riverhead is rebuilding, and we’re a work in progress,” he said.

Waski also said the event could help newer businesses, including Ben & Jerry’s on Main Street, by introducing more people to that end of downtown.

Marianna Garcia, recently hired as interim executive director at the Chamber of Commerce, told the board that chamber members have discussed the possibility of a different kind of event, one  more directly focused on downtown businesses, such as a “wine and dine” concept. She said Main Street construction and concerns about food trucks competing with local establishments were part of that conversation.

No decision was made Thursday.

Halpin said he wants to hear more directly from BIDMA and chamber leadership to make sure any event the town supports reflects what downtown businesses actually want. 

Waski invited downtown business owners to contact her with their views on whether Alive on 25 helps or hurts their businesses and what changes, if any, might make it work better.

The board plans to revisit the issue at next week’s work session, potentially with Tucci present, before deciding whether to move forward with Alive on 25, modify it or pursue an alternative event.