After a contentious start to the Riverhead Town Board meeting Tuesday (see separate story) board members got down to the business on the published agenda.
Public hearings:
Four-way stop at Griffing and Lincoln. Riverhead attorneys Frank Isler and Charles Cuddy, whose offices are in the vicinity of the intersection of Griffing Avenue and Lincoln Street spoke in favor of making that intersection a four-way stop, citing numerous accidents at the intersection. No one else commented on the proposal.
Code cleanup. Three public hearings were held on proposed code amendments to correct inconsistencies in three different town code chapters pertaining to the procedure of the conservation advisory council.
Taxi cab license revocation appeal. The final public hearing of the night was on the appeal by Day and Night Taxi and Limo Inc. of its business license. The business license was revoked by the town after one of the company’s cabs crashed into a parked pickup truck on Pulaski Street July 13, seriously injuring a passenger in the cab. The driver of the taxicab, Charles Williams, 23, was driving with a suspended license and did not possess a class E driver’s license, required by state law to operate a taxi, according to police. Nor did Williams have a town taxi cab operator’s permit.
The owner of the company, Mohammed Gondal, represented by attorney Anthony Palumbo (who is the N.Y. state assemblyman representing Assembly District Two, which includes the Town of Riverhead), testified that he purchased the company July 9, four days before the accident.
He said Williams, who worked for the prior owner, told him he had the proper licenses and he did not verify that.
“I made a mistake,” Gondal said.
Gondal asked the board to reinstate his business license and said he intended to keep only two of the company’s four vehicles on the road. Only he and Safdar Iqbal, both properly licensed, would be operating them. Gondal said his partner in the business, Rist Ali, would be obtaining a license and they would later seek to put a third vehicle on the road.
Gondal said he has lived in the community for 24 years and owns the Village Grocery convenience store in the shopping plaza across from Town Hall.
The convenience store is his primary business, Palumbo said.
The town board will discuss the appeal in executive session and notify Palumbo of its decision, Supervisor Sean Walter said.
Public hearing set on Second Street zone change
The board set a Sept. 16 public hearing on a proposed change of zone for the former firehouse site on East Second Street, which the town plans to sell to builder Bob Castaldi for $500,000. Castaldi’s agreement to buy the building is conditioned on the zone change, from DC-4 to DC-1, which allows for more uses, including retail uses. DC-1 also allows for the construction of five-story buildings. The public hearing is scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m.
EPCAL subdivision application authorized
The board authorized the supervisor to sign and file an application with the Riverhead Planning Board for the subdivision of the 2,324 acres owned by the town at the Calverton Enterprise Park into 50 lots for redevelopment with a mix of uses, including commercial and retail, industrial, residential, recreation and utilities, pursuant to the comprehensive redevelopment plan for EPCAL.
Action on $6 million ‘bridge loan’ delayed
The board postponed votes on resolutions calling a public hearing on a local law that would override the 2 percent tax levy limit mandated by state law and authorizing the Riverhead Community Development Agency to obtain a $6 million loan secured by a mortgage in the town-owned land at EPCAL.
Councilman James Wooten was absent Tuesday night and the supervisor said he didn’t want to call a vote on the two resolutions in question unless all five board members were present.
Software purchase rescinded
Councilwoman Jodi Giglio’s resolution authorizing the purchase of a new $44,000 software program for the building department, which was approved (4-1) May 6 over the supervisor’s objection was rescinded (3-1) over Giglio’s objection. Councilmen John Dunleavy and George Gabrielsen pulled their support of the expenditure, citing the town’s fiscal woes.
Special event permits approved
Hallockville Fall Festival & Craft Fair Sept. 13 & 14, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Garden of Eve Garlic Festival Sept. 20 & 21, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Endless Summer Championship Car Show (at Splish Splash) Sept. 21, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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