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Flooding forces closure of community center in Jamesport

TIM GANNON PHOTO
The George G. Young Community Center on South Jamesport Avenue
off Main Road in Jamesport could be closed for as long as two
weeks.

The Jamesport community center has been closed indefinitely due to concerns over flooding in its basement, said Riverhead Town engineer Ken Testa.
“We ordered it closed because…we had concerns about people getting electrocuted,” he said. “Also, we had to shut the elevator in the building down, and it’s needed to get to either of the floors in the center.”
The elevator is a hydraulic elevator and all its equipment is located below the basement floor, Mr. Testa explained.
The town hopes to reopen the George G. Young Community Center, located on South Jamesport Avenue off Main Road, once the water table goes down.
But that could take as long as two weeks, Mr. Testa said.
The community center normally plays host to recreational programs every day but Sunday, with programs both during the day and at night, said Ray Coyne, the town recreation supervisor.
“We have everything from yoga classes, youth nights, tap dancing, hip hop dancing, exercise ball classes, and bridge club,” Mr. Coyne said.
His department was told Wednesday to move its programs out of the building, he said.
One option is to move them to the town senior center on Shade Tree Lane in Aquebogue. The second is the little-used Henry Pfeiffer Community Center in Calverton, Mr. Coyne said.
Programs could also be moved to the state Armory on Route 58, and the Riverhead School District has said it can make some of its facilities available if needed, Mr. Coyne said.

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