Town square

Members of Temple Israel of Riverhead marked the beginning of Hanukkah this evening with a community menorah lighting.

A crowd filled Riverhead's new town square Sunday evening to celebrate the holiday season and enjoy the inaugural lighting of the Colorado blue spruce Christmas tree bedecked with festive decorations and a thousand colorful lights, standing tall near the center of the square.

The downtown Riverhead tree-lighting event has been postponed to Sunday. The schedule of events remains the same.

The presentation outlined the ongoing development of the downtown area, including plans for the riverfront and town square, and also unveiled plans for two parking garages off East Main Street not previously presented to the board.

The Riverhead Town Board designated J. Petrocelli Development Associates as master developer of the new town square last night, authorizing the the start of negotiations to further the project’s development.

J. Petrocelli Development Associates unveiled ambitious plans for the development of the public space, which the group said will “activate the town,” during a town board work session this morning,

The meetings, hosted by Riverhead’s Local Planning Committee — the advisory committee formed jointly by the state and town to guide the town’s spending of its award — are scheduled for March 21 at Town Hall, May 23 at the Suffolk Theater, and July 1 at either Grangebel Park or the Town Square site.

Riverhead Town has been awarded a $10 million grant from New York State’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative program, which will go toward major town-sponsored improvement projects like the town square and transit-oriented development near the railroad station.

Union officials are objecting to Riverhead Town’s award of a $965,000 demolition contract to a company that is not a participant in a qualified apprenticeship program registered, which the union says is mandated by the town’s procurement policy.

Community residents, business owners and government officials turned out to watch a heavy equipment operator begin demolition a long-vacant, blighted building on Main Street in Riverhead Monday, where the town plans to create a town square in the hope of spurring downtown revitalization.