A boisterous crowd of supporters of Scott’s Pointe, an adventure park that includes an indoor surf pool and aquapark at the former Navy-owned property that contained the Grumman plant in Calverton, turned out in the frigid cold Jan. 22 to urge the Riverhead Town Board approve a site plan for work that had already been done on the property without permits.
Pictured Above: Supporters of Scott’s Pointe at the Jan. 22 hearing. Eric Scott (second from right) did not speak at the hearing.
Riverhead Town recently reached a settlement with Island Water Park Corp., the corporation operating Scott’s Pointe, requiring Island Water Park to pay a $50,000 penalty for building pickleball courts, a go-kart track and a second-floor catering hall on the property without permits. As part of the settlement, the town agreed to process the amended site plan, including holding a public hearing on Jan. 22.
The supporters who turned out included many people who said they were members of law enforcement who take their families to Scott’s Point, which opened in 2023, for wholesome recreation. Many of the 30-plus speakers in favor of the application said the park’s owner, Eric Scott, made them feel at home and treated them like family.
Dominic Scotto said he remembered 40 years ago, when Eric Scott was his mechanic, he’d told him of his dream to open an amusement park.
“In the past 20 years, what Eric has gone through, 99.9 percent of human beings would have walked away,” he said. “What this guy’s been through is unbelievable. This says a lot about his character. If we do not approve this, he’s going to get destroyed. His family is going to be destroyed. His family will be in the red for years. This is a happy place, a positive place. We’re not talking about a bar, late night music and drugs.”
“This is one of the best places on Long Island that I’ve been to,” said Matteo Detrano of Freeport. “I think it’s great for the community. I’m 17 and when I have my license, I’m going to be spending a lot more time there, and maybe getting a job there over the summer. Make Long Island great again.”
James Bissett of Center Moriches said he takes his four kids and his friends to Scott’s Pointe on a regular basis.
“My father built the aquarium (in downtown Riverhead) and struggled with many things,” he said. “It’s hard to get @$%& done, unfortunately. You have these hard-working men who have the courage to do these things.”
Sal Ferrari, whose company, SQ4D, makes 3D printed houses, recently purchased property for his business at the Enterprise Park at Calverton.
“I’ve been in this town 24 months as a refugee from Brookhaven,” he said. “We left regulation and headache… We’re experiencing the same headaches I see Eric go through on a daily basis. We put $20 million in pledge and property, between purchases and renovations, into that property and still have no C of O [Certificate of Occupancy] 20 months later…. Rules get broken because people’s backs are to the wall and they don’t have a choice. You have to survive. We’re building businesses. We’re creating jobs. I brought 100 jobs to the doorstep of Riverhead.”
Mr. Ferrari said he had his company Christmas party at Scott’s Pointe under a tent because Riverhead wouldn’t let the facility use its catering hall.
“We shivered, but we didn’t complain because it was the right thing to do,” he said. “Businesses are people. Eric Scott is a person. You are going to bankrupt people.”
He added that if he had tried to build an orphange in Riverhead, it would have taken him five years.
“Orphanages, guys. Like really?” he said.
While most of the speakers in favor of the application were from points west, a handful of Riverhead residents and environmental advocates urged the Town Board, which is the lead agency on the project under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), to require the project to undergo an extensive environmental review. They were met with sotto voce heckles from the crowd throughout the evening.
“They all drive Subarus,” grumbled one man, shoulder to shoulder with other supporters who nodded in agreement with him after hearing the SEQRA argument several times. “They’re all women.”
The State Environmental Quality Review Act includes safeguards against a development loophole known as “segmentation,” in which developers attempt to avoid having to prepare an extensive General Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) by proposing large projects in phases. Many who spoke against the application urged the town board to require that a GEIS be prepared.
The Calverton site includes the most extensive grasslands left in New York State, and sits atop the groundwater divide, the high point in the underground aquifer — Long Island’s source of drinking water — where water flows downgradient to the north, east and south, spreading potential contamination further and in more directions than if it had not stood on the groundwater divide.
This has been of consistent concern from environmentalists as Scott’s Pointe excavated the property to build a lake for the water park.
The area’s siting atop the groundwater divide has also proved challenging for the U.S. Navy, which is charged with cleaning up the contamination from its use of the property before it was given to Riverhead to be used for economic development in the 1990s.
Group for the East End Director of Conservation Advocacy Jennifer Hartnagel said the way the applicant has proceeded “segments the action’s overall environmental impact” and urged the town to require the Environmental Impact Statement.
“It has nothing to do with whether you like this facility or not,”she said.
Cindy Clifford of Riverhead said the project “may be about the kids, but it’s also about the credibility and reputation of the Town Board,” adding that the applicant “has a history of operating outside the requirements of the town,” and has fallen short in the job creation it had promised when applying for tax abatements from the town’s Industrial Development Agency.
As she left the podium, she attempted to solicit applause from the audience, but was met by a chorus of boos instead.
“This was all built with without permits. This is a fact, and it is why we are all here,” said Karen Kemp of Calverton, who gave her comments via Zoom. “There’s a growing trend in Riverhead, where a developer builds first and then begs forgiveness.”
“Karen…. Karen…. Karen….” came a chorus from the crowd in the room.
Claudette Bianco of Baiting Hollow said the creation of the lake involved “sand mining done in secret in the middle of the night. Materials were excavated and moved. Trees were removed,” adding that work on the buildings was done without electrical or building department inspections.
“The owner has violated multiple processes,” she said. “To allow the segmented process to continue allows the applicant to undermine the SEQRA process.”
She added that if the town board does not declare the project a “Type I Action,” setting the stage for requiring the Environmental Impact Statement,” it will “give tacit approval to an unauthorized, uninspected and potentially harmful development. They’re adding to the tax base? They’re making fools of all of us.”
The DEC had granted Island Water Park a mining permit during the construction of the pond, but issued violations of that permit last year requiring the company to stop using the property for recreation while the mining permit was active.
Gary Detrano of Freeport said the “women he’d heard speak were spewing blatant fantasy,” and “the way they speak, it sounds like they’re being paid.”
He added that he’d known Eric Scott for 25 years, and had been involved with financing Scott’s Pointe.
“Anybody that knows anything about the processing of applications knows that if if you build something, you go for an as-built permit,” he said. “We all know the game…. I remember the day Eric bought this property, over 20 years ago. There were a lot of obstacles that had to be overcome for a long time.”
“Five different women are the only ones against it,” said Jeremy Bergen, who said he has a young son and wants to provide him with recreational opportunities. “They’re older and they don’t care. They don’t have kids. Let them go about their business and sip their tea at home.”
John McAuliffe of Riverhead reminded the board that their responsibility is to “the voters and citizens of Riverhead.
“I’m glad Mr. Scott has friends from all around, but the people who have to live with your decisions are the residents of Riverhead,” he said. “It should go through the proper review.”
A woman in the back of the room shouted “Clock It!” as he finished talking.
Steven Hughes of East Quogue, a retired military and police officer, who had worked with kids from jail and as a school resource officer, said all problem children he’s met are bored.
“There’s nothing for them to do. We’re giving them an opportunity to come to a place where they’re protected and having fun with their family,” he said, adding that he takes his three kids to the park on a regular basis.
“There are a lot of police officers in this room,” he said, adding that police officers don’t give tickets to everyone they catch speeding. “There’s such a thing as discretion. If people are doing right for the community, advise them, warn them and move forward.”
Ronnie Giovelli of Deer Park added that the Scott family is very patriotic and is always “giving stuff away to veterans.”
Mike Foley of Reeves Park, who gave his comments via Zoom, said that, when violations at the park first came to light last year there “was outrage in the community.”
He added that he thinks it’s important that the town send a message that businesses should protect Long Island’s aquifer and follow the rules.
“If he had come through the permit process, this all could have been dealt with,” he said. “The town needs to enforce its rules.”
“All right, we’ve had enough of you,” came a catcall from the crowd as Mr. Foley finished speaking.
The Town Board held the public hearing open for written comment for 10 days, through Jan. 31 at 4:30 p.m.
Town Clerk James Wooten said at the start of the meeting that he’d received 78 communications supporting Scott’s Pointe, along with a petition with 80 signatures and an online petition with 1,045 signatures in favor of the application, and “three opposing viewpoints.”
Written comment can be mailed to Mr. Wooten’s attention to Riverhead Town Hall, 4 West Second Street, Riverhead NY 11901 or emailed to wooten@townofriverheadny.gov.
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