Supervisor: We will save 1,000 acres at EPCAL

A number of speakers Tuesday urged Riverhead’s new Town Board members, Councilman Frank Beyrodt and Supervisor Yvette Aguiar, to fight to preserve more than 1,000 acres of land at the Enterprise Park at Calverton. 

That land was included in the proposed sale of EPCAL during the administration of former supervisor Sean Walter. He initially planed to sell only about 600 acres at EPCAL, but then announced that he would sell more than 1,600 acres to Luminati Aerospace for the same $40 million price tag.

The land is currently proposed for sale to Calverton Aviation & Technology, an organization comprising the Triple Five Group, which owns 75%, and Luminati, which owns 25% and is a non-voting entity.

The town is required to approve an eight-lot subdivision of the property by May before the sale can move forward. Approvals from the county and the state also are needed. 

Christine Hawkins of Baiting Hollow was one of several speakers who urged the board to protect the 1,000 acres. She said an online petition urging the preservation of those acres now has 2,783 signatures and is growing. 

She said two adult bald eagles and two juvenile bald eagles were spotting on the property last week. 

Ms. Aguiar said she will make sure the 1,000 acres are preserved. She said that three attorneys have looked at the contract between the town and CAT and have said the town has to move forward with the proposed sale.

But, she added, “there are ways of making sure that the land is preserved.”

Representatives of CAT have also said they intend to preserve that land, but not until the sale is completed.