Former owner of historic Roe Tavern faces possible eviction from Brookhaven-owned home

By now, Art Billadello expected to be living once again in the relocated historic tavern he once owned in East Setauket.

Instead, the Revolutionary War re-enactor and historical lecturer is packing his belongings — including historic artifacts dating to the Colonial era — after he was warned by Brookhaven officials he may be evicted from his temporary, town-owned home.

Brookhaven officials say Billadello's three-year lease is expiring, but they have not begun formal eviction proceedings.

But Billadello, 78, said he has no place to go.

“They want to put me on the street,” he said Tuesday in a telephone interview.

Billadello is the former owner of Roe Tavern, the 323-year-old house believed to have played a role in the Culper Spy Ring during the Revolutionary War. Some believe President George Washington visited the tavern during his famous 1790 tour of Long Island.

Billadello had owned the tavern for 27 years when he agreed in 2023 to sell it to Brookhaven for about $800,000. The town planned to move the tavern, which had been relocated about a century ago, back to its original location as part of plans to redevelop the town's Setauket Harbor Park.

Billadello was to move back into the tavern after its relocation, to serve as a caretaker and resident lecturer. The town allowed him to live temporarily in a town-owned house on Dyke Road in Setauket in exchange for speaking to local history and scout groups.

In May, he received a letter from the town informing him that his lease would expire on Nov. 6 and the town did not plan to renew it. Billadello, who showed the letter to Newsday, said he felt "betrayed."

“They were supposed to move the [Roe Tavern] in a year, no problem," he said. “If I didn’t have a heart attack when I got that letter, I’ll never have one.”

He said he is planning to put his belongings in storage and visit his daughter in Florida to think through his next steps.

Town Attorney Annette Eaderesto said plans to relocate the tavern have been indefinitely delayed, citing the challenges of moving a three-century-old building. She said Billadello can remain in the house until he receives a formal eviction notice.

“The tavern has turned out to be very hard to move," Eaderesto said Wednesday in a phone interview. "It's going to have to be taken apart in pieces to move.”

“There’s a lot of moving pieces," she added. "I don’t think [Billadello] was misled. No one ever told him it was going to be moved in three years.”

Suffolk County Legis. Steve Englebright (D-East Setauket), who supports the plan to relocate the tavern, said Wednesday the town had "valid" concerns about the tavern's condition, citing mold and a hole in the roof. He said Billadello had failed to remove some of his belongings when he left three years ago.

For now, Billadello is preparing to move his personal collection of 18th- and 19th-century artifacts, including muskets, paintings, furnishings and spinning wheels.

“There’s an old expression," he said. "You can’t fight city hall.”

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.