Town officials moving ahead with long-running bid to bring YMCA to Riverhead

After decades of failed proposals, community pushback and resistance from previous Town Board officials, Riverhead may finally be on the way to getting its very own YMCA.

Riverhead Town Board members will vote on a resolution Wednesday in support of the development of a YMCA recreation facility in the vacant New York State Armory building on Route 58. However, before approving any sale or lease, there are a few “hurdles” at the state level the town still has to overcome, Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard said.

“Right now, technically, we can’t use it for a YMCA, but the resolution we put in is actually going to help us go to the state to request a change, so we can use it as a YMCA,” Mr. Hubbard said in a voicemail message on Friday.

The shift would require an amendment to a 2011 state law to allow the YMCA to use the armory building for recreation and community services to benefit Riverhead residents. The building and its 5.7 acres were sold by the town to the state in 1953 for $500, and both parties agreed at the time that if the town was ever interested in reclaiming the land, they could do so only if the armory ceased operation.

The armory has been abandoned for decades, and in 2011, the state transferred ownership back to Riverhead. Under state legislation, the building was initially intended to be used to house the Riverhead police department, justice court, public safety agencies and recreational facilities.

However, despite various attempts, town officials were not able to repurpose the building for those uses, according to the new resolution. Once Riverhead acquired its new Town Hall building on West Second Street in 2023, officials determined it would be more cost effective to renovate the old town hall at 200 Howell Ave. to house the justice court, which in turn would allow the police department to reoccupy the former justice court space.

With the armory no longer needed for the police department or court, the building’s only remaining approved use is for recreation and community programs. But officials said the town currently lacks sufficient funding to renovate the blighted armory or manage any expansion of recreational activities there, the resolution stated.

That is where the YMCA of Long Island comes in: Although still early in the process, leaders of the organization have toured the armory with town staff and expressed an interest in either leasing or purchasing the building to provide a variety of wellness and educational programs to residents of all ages.

Once the board approves this resolution, the Town Attorney’s Office will prepare a Municipal Home Rule Request and send a copy of the resolution to Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio and State Senator Anthony Palumbo for review.

The idea of a YMCA in Riverhead has been floated in the past, with the late Joe Van de Wetering of Baiting Hollow leading the push for a “Peconic YMCA.” A number of locations were considered, but several encountered community opposition, and none were ever seriously pursued. The Town Board ended its support for the previous development plan in late 2012 after the YMCA changed much of its leadership. 

“The YMCA has been around for many years trying to build something on the East End. They’ve always had several locations, and for whatever reasons, it didn’t pan out,” Mr. Hubbard said. “But I think this might be a good location, for sure, and I would fully support it at this point in time.”