The Riverside traffic circle’s expansion won’t begin anytime soon. (Credit: file photo)
Thanks to understaffing at the county Department of Public Works, expansion of the Riverside traffic circle isn’t likely to begin earnest for at least another two years, according to county Legislator Jay Schneiderman (I-Montauk). (more…)
Funding for a footbridge that would connect downtown Riverhead and Riverside won’t be coming in 2015, but town officials said they hope to be able to pay for the project next year. (more…)
Siris Barrios, community liaison for Renaissance Downtown Riverside Rediscovered in her office on Peconic Avenue. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)
In late 2013, the Southampton Town Board hired a private firm as master developer to take the lead in revitalizing the downtrodden hamlet of Riverside. (more…)
The Valero is located at the northern portion of the traffic circle. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch, file)
A man who was denied cigars because he didn’t have proof of his age was arrested after he then went outside and kicked the careful clerk’s car in retaliation, damaging the car, Southampton Town police said. (more…)
The 7-Eleven store in Flanders. (Credit: Tim Gannon)
The 7-Eleven built in Flanders last spring is scheduled to open on Dec. 17, a spokeswoman for the convenience store chain has confirmed.
“It’s done, but we are waiting for sign permits before we can open,” said Margaret Chabris, 7-Eleven’s director of corporate communications, about the store located near the Flanders Road and Cypress Avenue intersection. (more…)
Eric Wright, right, speaks to residents in Riverside before hearing feedback at a Monday night Flanders, Riverside, Northampton Community Association meeting. (Credit: Jen Nuzzo)
A wooden structure with a minimal incline and a few seating areas are some ideas residents said they liked about a proposed pedestrian bridge for the Peconic River.
An abandoned gas station on Flanders Road just east of the Peconic Avenue circle. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)
Peconic Avenue has a new tenant, and locals should take notice.
Renaissance Downtowns has had a sign posted in its storefront for the past couple of months, but with a community liaison now on the ground and officially hired for the job, the for-profit company can officially get to work on charting a course for the future of Riverside.
Is it frustrating — and somewhat typical — to see another plan in the works for the beleaguered community, where making progress has for far too long been on the back burner for Southampton Town and Suffolk County leaders? Yes — but as the saying goes, nothing worth having ever came easy. And area residents have before them a great opportunity with a private company that’s financially invested in gathering public feedback — and crafting a vision for Riverside based on that information. Unlike with a government study, if the plan it ultimately develops isn’t executed, Renaissance Downtowns loses private money. Its motivations are financial, not political. That gives us hope.
However, it helps that political leaders are on board and supportive of the overall effort to lift up the area.
A public meeting will be held next month on a pedestrian bridge that could connect the hamlet with a burgeoning downtown Riverhead. A study has already been completed on the feasibility of a sewer treatment plant in Riverside, and the county seems on board to contribute funds to build one. This fall, voters townwide will go to the polls to determine if the hamlet — along with neighboring Flanders and Northampton — should get what we argue is a much-needed garbage district.
The missing link to realizing a long-term vision for Riverside is a cohesive effort from residents throughout the hamlet, not just a few politicians and civic leaders. While their support is vital, what’s paramount is feedback from those living and working there — and in downtown Riverhead — who will be most affected by long-term changes. They should stop by Renaissance Downtowns’ Peconic Avenue offices, give organizers five minutes if they drop by or, better yet, attend any upcoming meetings. Business mixers and community forums are in the works. Be there and let your thoughts be known.
Siris Barrios, community liaison with Renaissance Downtowns, outside the company’s office on Peconic Avenue. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)
Growing up in the 1980s and’90s in a racially divided part of Los Angeles, where drugs and gangs were prevalent, Siris Barrios remembers well the days of the 1992 L.A. riots and the civil unrest she saw.
