Riverhead jail to get $18.8M upgrade for 57-year-old kitchen, repairs
The Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Riverside will receive an $18.8 million upgrade, including a complete overhaul of its 57-year-old kitchen, after the county Legislature unanimously approved a bond to pay for the work.
The overhaul — approved Tuesday, Feb. 3, as part of the county’s 2026 capital budget — will fund repairs to mechanical and electrical systems, the stormwater drainage system, asphalt paving and drainage, exterior concrete stairs, walkways and curbs, exterior lighting systems, building roofs and waterproofing and other general building improvements.
Several projects and parts of the facility will also be renovated or replaced, including the storage and staff support area and, most of all, the kitchen, for which $16.2 million will be budgeted.
“The entire kitchen is being replaced. The new kitchen is currently in the design phase and will consist of an entire renovation of the side of the building,” spokesperson Victoria DiStefano said in a statement, “which will include a new secure entrance for employees, new locker rooms and a fitness area for officers, in addition to a new modernized and efficient kitchen area.”
Ms. DiStefano said the kitchen has been maintained and upgraded as needed, but has not had a full renovation since the jail was built in 1969. Food for both inmates and officers is prepared in the kitchen.
She said the sheriff’s department had been working to get the upgrades approved for quite some time.
Ms. DiSefano said the remaining $2 million of the bond is planned for general buildng upkeep, meaning roof, HVAC repairs and concrete repairs.
“This is a recurring annual maintenance expense,” she said.
There is no current timeframe for completion of construction. The project is currently in the design phase, and once the county issues a request for proposals (RFP) for the renovation and awards the contract, there will be a better idea of the construction time needed.
Suffolk County has two correctional facilities, with the other in Yaphank. The Riverside facility houses up to 840 minimum, medium and maximum security male and female inmates.
