Riverhead's Zero Tolerance Program

By Doug Geed

       I think it's one of Long Island's most picturesque downtowns. The architecture in Riverhead is beautiful and varied. You sense the history Main Street and can picture it in its heyday when Suffolk's County Center was a bustling community.

    Downtown suffered bad times in more recent years and it has bounced back quite a bit. But if you drive along Main Street now, you'll see an awful lot of vacant stores.
    There are several reasons for this -- one big one is the massive pending project to completely revitalize the downtown area, in part, by turning around the storefronts that now face Main Street (Route 25) so that they'll face the Peconic River behind them.
      The river is now a nice area for a stroll -- a boardwalk, brickwork and picnic tables. But the area around it is nothing more than a huge parking lot for the BACK of the Main Street stores.

      The so-called Apollo project, to completely change the look of the downtown, is dragging on and many stores are going out of business.

      There is also a perception that downtown is not "safe." To fight that perception, the town just put a zero-tolerance policy in effect. Essentially, any "quality of life" violation (anything from loitering and playing loud boom boxes to prostitution) will be ticketed immediately. Fines for such violations could be doubled.
      Local officials say statistically, Riverhead is not an unsafe area but they agree the perception that it is exists. There's a theory that if one broken window is left unfixed or if a group of unemployed people are allowed to hang around a street corner doing nothing, then it gives the impression that  "disorder is tolerated," as town supervisor Phil Cardinale put it. These are the things police are now going after.

    In the meantime, if you haven't visited Riverhead, you're really missing out on a special place. Atlantis Marine World on East Main Street is a terrific place to visit -- a top-notch aquarium with beautiful architecture and landscaping. It attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. And they are also sinking a lot of money into an on-site hotel that should also give the downtown area a shot in the arm.
    On the other end of Main Street is Star Confectionery (or Papa Nick's) as its know. Owned by the third generation of the same family, it is still one of our favorite places to eat on Long Island. It's like you're stepping into a 1930's luncheonette and whether you're simply getting pancakes for breakfast, a tuna sandwich for lunch or their homeade ice cream for dessert, it somehow just tastes better.
     There are also many hardworking business owners along Main Street who are enthusiastic about the future of their downtown. They're hoping this new zero-tolerance policy will be a big success and will bring even more visitors to their town.
    Just remember -- leave the boom box at home.