Riverhead plans to reopen public restroom

The comfort station on West Main Street in Riverhead has been closed for more than 20 years.

Town Supervisor Sean Walter says the time is right to reopen the area's only public toilet facility, even if the town has to do the work itself.

"If I can't take back my own comfort station, I will never be successful on Main Street," he said.

So, a few weeks ago, he got the keys to the locked building and went in with a tape measure and engineers.

Despite its deteriorating state, the building has been put to use. For the past few years, according to town councilman John Dunleavy, traffic control agents have stored equipment in the small one-story red brick building, which has three separate stalls for men and three for woman.

Dunleavy remembers when the station was closed.

"It was originally a gift from the Lion's Club," he said. "We had a woman who was an attendant. When she died, they closed it and the job was never filled."

After years of deterioration, town officials decided it was too costly to keep the station open. Then, in 2007, the town got a $60,000 county grant to renovate and reopen it. When the job was bid out, costs totaled about $110,000, so the money was used for another project in the county.

Since then, Riverhead has worked hard to renovate its downtown business district, cleaning up and trying to find tenants for the empty buildings. It has also spent about $1.3 million to restore Grangebel Park, a town facility just south of the comfort station on the other side of the Peconic River.

Walter says he is seeking to get the $60,000 grant reauthorized, and would like to reopen the station by the summer.

Unlike much of Long Island, where there are fast-food restaurants and diners with available bathrooms every few miles, there are only a few municipal comfort stations on the East End. Many are located in busy business districts, such as in East Hampton Village, Bridgehampton and Greenport.

The toilet in Westhampton Beach village hall -- a building that meets green energy savings standards -- even offers a half flush or full flush.

In Riverhead, Walter has vowed to not bite off more than he can chew.

"We don't have to make this into the Taj Mahal of bathrooms . . . get the roof done, make it handicapped-accessible, paint it and open it," he said. "It doesn't have to be perfect."