mikelbeck
10-05-2007, 11:05 PM
EPCAL decision takes center stage in supervisor contest
The proposed ski slope at EPCAL has quickly surpassed the Youngs Avenue landfill as the most contentious issue in the race for Riverhead supervisor.
It has also drawn the involvement of car-racing enthusiasts, many from outside the town, who held a rally Saturday morning at Grumman Memorial Park on Route 25 in Calverton.
http://www2.timesreview.com/NR/index/290141869260562.php
Many of the same racing enthusiasts turned up at Tuesday night's Town Board meeting to again demand — some rather angrily — that the Town Board rescind its earlier decision and vote to negotiate with RexCorp. No action was taken or even contemplated, despite a promise Mr. Stark had made at Saturday's rally.
To a roar of approval from the crowd, Mr. Stark had said that over the weekend he would create a formal resolution to rescind the Riverhead Resorts decision, and he said he would ask Councilman Ed Densieski, a Republican who had voted against Riverhead Resorts, to introduce the resolution at Tuesday's Town Board meeting. But when asked about it by a reporter Tuesday night, Mr. Densieski said that Mr. Stark hadn't given him a resolution to introduce. Mr. Stark didn't attend the meeting.
Even Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy has entered the fray. A letter he wrote was read aloud at Saturday's rally, voicing support for a racetrack and suggesting he might have an idea for building a track somewhere else if the Riverhead Town Board sticks with its decision favoring Riverhead Resorts over RexCorp.
The letter, read by Alan Estergomy of Central Islip, a member of the Long Island Motor Sports Association, said in part:
"If the EPCAL site is not approved by the Town Board of Riverhead, then the site immediately next door is already properly zoned, isolated from residents, and is easily accessible by major roadways. I have met with the owner of the property, who is prepared to construct a motor sports park on that site, if the Riverhead Town Board agrees."
The letter neither identified the property nor its owner, and calls on Monday and Tuesday to Mr. Levy and his press aide, Ed Dumas, went unanswered. But The News-Review has learned that the site Mr. Levy referred to in his letter is the 42-acre parcel within EPCAL that's been proposed as a site for an ATV racetrack.
Mr. Estergomy of the motor sports group was surprised on Tuesday when told Mr. Levy's letter referred to an ATV/motorcycle track on a 42-acre parcel. He subsequently called the county executive's office and confirmed that this was in fact the proposal Mr. Levy wrote about, he said in an interview later that day.
Mr. Estergomy said the site trumpeted by the county executive would be "totally insufficient and not even close" to what his organization wants to see happen at EPCAL.
Mr. Cardinale, who was booed often, told the racing enthusiasts that he had nothing against motor sports at EPCAL and, in fact, would welcome it. He said that although he and the Town Board had been faced with a difficult decision in choosing Riverhead Resorts over RexCorp, he would still like to see a racetrack at EPCAL.
He said that a 500-acre parcel still remains for sale at the old Grumman site and that he has already approached RexCorp to see if the company would be interested in pursuing a motor sports facility on that property.
Mr. Cardinale reported much the same at Tuesday night's board meeting and indicated he had already spoken with Scott Rechler, the head of RexCorp, who had promised to consider the idea.
The proposed ski slope at EPCAL has quickly surpassed the Youngs Avenue landfill as the most contentious issue in the race for Riverhead supervisor.
It has also drawn the involvement of car-racing enthusiasts, many from outside the town, who held a rally Saturday morning at Grumman Memorial Park on Route 25 in Calverton.
http://www2.timesreview.com/NR/index/290141869260562.php
Many of the same racing enthusiasts turned up at Tuesday night's Town Board meeting to again demand — some rather angrily — that the Town Board rescind its earlier decision and vote to negotiate with RexCorp. No action was taken or even contemplated, despite a promise Mr. Stark had made at Saturday's rally.
To a roar of approval from the crowd, Mr. Stark had said that over the weekend he would create a formal resolution to rescind the Riverhead Resorts decision, and he said he would ask Councilman Ed Densieski, a Republican who had voted against Riverhead Resorts, to introduce the resolution at Tuesday's Town Board meeting. But when asked about it by a reporter Tuesday night, Mr. Densieski said that Mr. Stark hadn't given him a resolution to introduce. Mr. Stark didn't attend the meeting.
Even Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy has entered the fray. A letter he wrote was read aloud at Saturday's rally, voicing support for a racetrack and suggesting he might have an idea for building a track somewhere else if the Riverhead Town Board sticks with its decision favoring Riverhead Resorts over RexCorp.
The letter, read by Alan Estergomy of Central Islip, a member of the Long Island Motor Sports Association, said in part:
"If the EPCAL site is not approved by the Town Board of Riverhead, then the site immediately next door is already properly zoned, isolated from residents, and is easily accessible by major roadways. I have met with the owner of the property, who is prepared to construct a motor sports park on that site, if the Riverhead Town Board agrees."
The letter neither identified the property nor its owner, and calls on Monday and Tuesday to Mr. Levy and his press aide, Ed Dumas, went unanswered. But The News-Review has learned that the site Mr. Levy referred to in his letter is the 42-acre parcel within EPCAL that's been proposed as a site for an ATV racetrack.
Mr. Estergomy of the motor sports group was surprised on Tuesday when told Mr. Levy's letter referred to an ATV/motorcycle track on a 42-acre parcel. He subsequently called the county executive's office and confirmed that this was in fact the proposal Mr. Levy wrote about, he said in an interview later that day.
Mr. Estergomy said the site trumpeted by the county executive would be "totally insufficient and not even close" to what his organization wants to see happen at EPCAL.
Mr. Cardinale, who was booed often, told the racing enthusiasts that he had nothing against motor sports at EPCAL and, in fact, would welcome it. He said that although he and the Town Board had been faced with a difficult decision in choosing Riverhead Resorts over RexCorp, he would still like to see a racetrack at EPCAL.
He said that a 500-acre parcel still remains for sale at the old Grumman site and that he has already approached RexCorp to see if the company would be interested in pursuing a motor sports facility on that property.
Mr. Cardinale reported much the same at Tuesday night's board meeting and indicated he had already spoken with Scott Rechler, the head of RexCorp, who had promised to consider the idea.