A Calverton property owner has sued the Town of Riverhead, the Riverhead Community Development Agency and the United States Golf Association over use of part of its property for U.S. Open parking and shuttle operations at EPCAL, but a court order issued Wednesday appears to preserve the town’s planned parking operation while barring vehicles from parking on the company’s property.
State Supreme Court Justice Aletha V. Fields issued an order late Wednesday afternoon after what the court described as “significant conferencing” with counsel in two related lawsuits: one filed by 400 David Court LLC against the town, CDA and USGA, and another filed by the town and CDA against 400 David Court LLC.
Court order sets ground rules
The order says a clarified plan “does not call for or permit any cars to be parked on 400 David Court LLC’s realty,” but provides for fans in those cars to have access to parking, shuttle services and attendance at the tournament. The order requires the town, CDA and USGA to prevent anyone associated with the tournament from parking on the portion of 400 David Court LLC’s property burdened by the easement, even if that requires vehicles to be towed.
The order also requires 400 David Court LLC to permit and not interfere with the free passage of shuttle buses taking fans to and from the golf tournament. The town, CDA and USGA may not permit or cause shuttle buses to interfere with the placement of a crane by 400 David Court LLC on its property, and 400 David Court LLC may not allow the crane to interfere with the passage of shuttle buses.
The court also authorized the town, CDA, USGA or their designees to move concrete blocks located wholly or partly on 400 David Court LLC’s property if the blocks obstruct bus movement. The blocks may be moved to any location where no part of them remains on the company’s property, and 400 David Court LLC may not interfere with their movement.
Riverhead Town Attorney Erik Howard said in an email Wednesday evening that the parties appeared in Suffolk County Supreme Court and conferenced the matter.
“At this time, there appears to be agreement resolving the immediate disputes relative to the parking of vehicles at the Town’s Calverton property,” Howard said. “I do not anticipate that parking for the US Open at Calverton Enterprise Park will be negatively impacted.”
The court order expressly states that it does not resolve whether the use of the easement contemplated by the license agreement, or by the order itself, is a permitted use under the easement. The underlying lawsuits remain pending.
Property owner challenges easement use
The lawsuit filed by 400 David Court LLC alleges the town exceeded the scope of a 2001 easement agreement concerning use of a taxiway. The town has authorized the USGA to use the easement to access a runway for parking connected to the 2026 U.S. Open Championship at Shinnecock Hills in Southampton next week.
400 David Court LLC owns a 16.35-acre parcel in the Calverton Enterprise Park formerly owned by Skydive Long Island. The LLC was previously owned by Daniel Preston and housed Preston’s company, Luminati Aerospace. After Preston moved Luminati out of the site, 400 David Court LLC, which owns the real estate, was sold to a third party.
In its complaint, 400 David Court LLC says the easement over portions of the property is limited to use “as an aircraft parking area and taxiway” and related maintenance. The complaint alleges the town, CDA and USGA have no right to use the easement area for mass vehicle parking, bus staging, security screening and shuttle operations for the golf tournament.
The U.S. Open is scheduled to take place June 15 to 21. Riverhead officials approved a license agreement with the USGA in January allowing use of the 10,000-foot runway at EPCAL from June 1 to June 26. The agreement calls for the USGA to pay the town $150,000.
The Town Board on June 2 also approved a special event permit for the “2026 US Open-General Parking and Transportation Operation” to take place June 15 to 21 between 5 a.m. and 11 p.m. at Calverton Enterprise Park. The resolution approving the permit says the USGA paid a $2,500 Chapter 255 application fee and must provide liability insurance naming the town as an additional insured.
The court filing says the town did not give 400 David Court LLC notice of the license agreement and planned USGA use until May 26 — more than four months after the agreement was approved and only two business days before the June 1 start of the license term.
The complaint alleges USGA personnel began entering the property May 26 and have since trespassed on and damaged the easement area. The plaintiff alleges damages include spray-painting on the property and the removal or destruction of concrete blocks or barriers. The complaint also alleges the use of aerosol spray paint discharged hazardous volatile organic compounds and solvents, including toluene, xylene and acetone.
The plaintiff is seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. It asks the court to declare that the easement is limited to the rights stated in the 2001 easement agreement; to bar the town, CDA and USGA from entering, using or occupying the property; to require removal of items and structures placed there; and to require restoration of the property to its prior condition, to the extent possible.
The lawsuit, first reported by Newsday, also seeks an order requiring the town and CDA to correct what the plaintiff describes as unsafe and defective conditions on the runways and taxiways. The complaint references a December 2025 notice of claim served on the town and CDA concerning alleged failures to enclose and protect the aircraft runways and taxiways from illegal trespass, motor vehicle racing and other criminal activity.
The plaintiff’s attorney, Justin F. Pane, submitted an emergency affirmation arguing that immediate court intervention is needed before the U.S. Open parking operation begins. Pane wrote that the USGA plans to park thousands of vehicles and shuttle tens of thousands of people through the Calverton site, and that the town has no authority under the easement to authorize that use.
USGA’s proposal to the town
The USGA’s proposal, attached to the town’s license agreement, estimated peak parking demand at about 3,750 vehicles on Friday and Saturday of championship week, with about 8,625 people using the Calverton parking and shuttle operation on those peak days. During the Dec. 18 Town Board work session where the proposal was first discussed publicly, USGA representatives said they expected to use about 130 to 145 coach buses on peak days to move spectators between Calverton and Shinnecock Hills.
The USGA said at the December work session that it had historically used Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach for general parking during prior U.S. Opens at Shinnecock, but development at that airport had reduced the available parking area.
Eric Steiner of the USGA told the board Dec. 18 that the association was looking at Calverton as a replacement general parking lot. Steiner said the USGA expected more than 150,000 people over the course of the week, with peak attendance at the golf course likely about 33,000 to 35,000 people per day during the championship rounds.
Town approvals and environmental review
The Town Board on Jan. 21 unanimously adopted a resolution authorizing Supervisor Jerry Halpin to execute the license agreement with the USGA. The same resolution classified the action as an unlisted action under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, made the Town Board lead agency and issued a negative declaration, finding the temporary license agreement was not likely to result in any significant adverse environmental impacts.
The town’s full environmental assessment form described the proposal as temporary vehicle parking and attendee bus shuttle service using the 10,000-foot runway at EPCAL. It stated that no physical construction was proposed and that no new impervious surface would be created. It also noted that the site is within the Long Island Central Pine Barrens and within habitat areas for grassland bird species.
During the Dec. 18 work session, town environmental consultant Jeff Seeman said he had contacted the state Department of Environmental Conservation early in the process because the event falls during grassland bird nesting season, which he said runs from about the third week of April through the second week of August. Seeman said the DEC was willing to allow the town to work with the USGA on a grassland protection program, including stakes and rope to keep spectators out of sensitive areas.
“No takings permit is required, which was a big plus to let this go forward,” Seeman said.
The license agreement says the USGA may use a portion of the eastern runway and associated grass areas for parking, staging shuttle buses, security screening, temporary facilities and related operations. It also requires the USGA to remove its temporary equipment and restore the premises after the event.
Concrete blocks and competing claims
After Pane sent town officials a copy of the draft lawsuit on June 3 and asked whether a pre-filing resolution might be possible, the town attorney’s office responded the next day with a demand that 400 David Court LLC remove concrete blocks or barriers from the easement area and Jan Way.
Deputy Town Attorney Danielle Hurley wrote in the June 4 letter that the company had “obstructed and interfered with the Town’s access” to the easement, in violation of the easement agreement’s requirement that the easement area remain free from objects or obstructions. Hurley wrote that the town had confirmed the concrete blocks or barriers are owned by the town and have been on site for decades.
Hurley demanded that the blocks be removed from the easement area by the close of business June 5 and said the town intended to move any remaining blocks early the following week. She also directed the plaintiff to refrain from interfering with the town and its licensees’ use of or access to the easement area, warning that the town would pursue emergency injunctive relief if the obstructions were not removed.
Pane characterized the town’s response in his court filing as “retaliatory threats” based on what he called incorrect and false allegations.
The order was entered on consent of all bound parties except the USGA, which did not appear for the proceedings on the orders to show cause. Fields directed 400 David Court LLC to serve the order on the USGA by email and overnight mail before noon Thursday. The USGA has until noon Friday to object, in which case a hearing will be held Monday, June 15, on the temporary relief sought in the orders to show cause.
The court retained jurisdiction over both cases and directed counsel to appear for a short virtual conference Thursday morning to set a date for a preliminary conference or other proceedings in the underlying lawsuits.
Pane did not return a phone call seeking comment. The USGA did not respond to a request for comment.
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