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Town to announce clean-up day for Riverhead’s LIRR station

Riverhead Town is planning to spruce up the Long Island Railroad Station, Supervisor Laura Jens-Smith said Thursday.

The town will soon announce a clean-up day for the station, which will include new plantings with help from the Long Island Farm Bureau.

The goal is to visually clean up the area, Ms. Jens-Smith said. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will be fixing up bricks on the station house and repainting columns.

The town’s also working with Suffolk County to move the nearby bus station farther west onto Cedar Street so that to buses can pull in at the same time. Two parking spaces on the street would be removed, which Councilwoman Jodi Giglio said was a concern for times when the courts nearby are busy.

It will help create a more walkable atmosphere to downtown as it becomes revitalized, the supervisor said.

The train station’s become a hangout and a loitering space, Councilman Tim Hubbard said.

Ms. Jens-Smith said the town is also working with the Riverhead Police Department the county Department of Social Services.

Benches at the station have been moved from the front of the train station to the sides.

“We do realize that there is an issue here with people hanging out at the train station,” she said. The police and social services were down at the station Thursday to determine how someone at the station could be assisted if needed, she said.

“It’s not that we’re just moving benches and telling people, ‘We don’t want you here,’ ” Ms. Jens-Smith said. “It’s also to provide what we need to provide.”

She suggested volunteers could be organized through the town’s anti-litter committee, which is headed by Councilman Jim Wooten. Mr. Wooten said a resident recently reached out to him to see what could be done about litter across town. The hope is to get more interest in keeping the town clean and taking pride in doing so, he said. The committee is set to meet Saturday, Aug. 4 at town hall.

Photo caption: The Riverhead LIRR station. (Credit: Kelly Zegers)

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