Riverhead Industrial Development Agency

For too long, Riverhead Town has either looked the other way or given Island Water Park a slap on the wrist, no matter how the operator made a mockery out of town law. Here's why that must no longer stand. Editorial.

In papers filed in court Friday afternoon, Riverhead Town and the Riverhead IDA seek dismissal of the lawsuit brought by the Triple Five affiliate in the gnarly and controversial $40 million EPCAL land deal that collapsed last year.

The RIDA approved a 16-year phased abatement of real property taxes for the project, as well as mortgage recording tax and sales tax exemptions valued at more than $3 million.

Assembly Member Fred Thiele, who chairs the Assembly's local governments committee, says his committee is reviewing more than a dozen bills directed at IDA reform. “We are looking to develop a package of legislation for later in the session," he told RiverheadLOCAL.

The owners of Lily Flanagan's Restaurant Group, which operates several restaurants and pubs in western Suffolk, will be opening a brew pub restaurant in the riverfront space formerly occupied by Peconic County Brewing Company.

Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman of Hauppauge was hired by RIverhead to represent the town and the Riverhead IDA in the lawsuit filed last month by Calverton Aviation & Technology seeking to enforce its purchase agreement with the town for 1,644 acres of vacant industrial land in Calverton.

Representatives of unions, school funding advocates and government watchdog groups gathered in the State Capitol Wednesday to call for the passage of legislation that seeks to prohibit industrial development agencies from abating school district taxes.

The developer of a proposed 165-unit apartment complex on East Main Street made its pitch for tax exemptions from the Riverhead Industrial Development Agency at a public hearing Monday night at Riverhead Town Hall.

The tension that’s been building between the Riverhead school district and Riverhead Industrial Development Agency over property tax exemptions was on full display at Monday’s RIDA meeting, where one RIDA board member lashed out at the school district, accusing it of hating subsidized housing and failing to control its own budget.

Riverhead IDA watchdog and former board member Larry Simms discusses the agency's decision-making processes, which he argues lead to many bad decisions.