Riverhead town plans fresh start at Enterprise Park at Calverton

Riverhead Town officials are ready for a fresh start at Enterprise Park at Calverton after a State Supreme Court justice threw out all but one claim a venture aerospace company alleged against the town in a lawsuit over the canceled $40 million sale of the property.

In the Feb. 27 ruling, Justice David Reilly dismissed 16 of 17 claims in the complaint filed by Calverton Aviation & Technology, which sought to transform the 1,643-acre site into a high-tech aviation and industrial hub.

The decision dismantles the company's effort to force Riverhead to close the deal and clears the town of allegations of breaching contracts, fraud and other claims. But litigation will continue as Reilly's ruling clears the path for a trial on a surviving claim of tortious interference.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin called the decision a “win” for residents and said he wants to explore ideas big and small for the site.

“It’s an opportunity to create a brighter future,” Halpin said in an interview. “It’s time to get busy and start putting that property to work for the taxpayers.”

Allegation of IDA 'escape hatch'

Calverton Aviation & Technology is a subsidiary of Triple Five Group, whose portfolio includes the Mall of America and American Dream malls. The company argued in its lawsuit that Riverhead Town used its Industrial Development Agency as an “escape hatch” to kill the deal, which had been pending since 2018.

Reilly declined to dismiss the claim of tortious interference, which occurs when a defendant maliciously causes a third party to breach a contract with a plaintiff, resulting in damages. The judge wrote it “can sometimes be a sublime connivance within a proper process to achieve a specific outcome” in his decision.

Ronald Rossi, a Manhattan attorney representing Calverton Aviation & Technology, said CAT plans to proceed to trial on that claim and appeal the dismissals.

Despite dismissing most of the claims, Rossi said the judge “left in place the heart of CAT’s claim” that Riverhead interfered with an independent review by the Riverhead Industrial Development Agency “through its undue political influence and tactics,” he wrote in an email.

In 2022, CAT and Riverhead Town struck a new agreement to move the sale along and which called for the IDA to analyze CAT’s financial capability of developing the site. The town's IDA denied the application in October 2023, prompting the town board to declare the contract null and void.

In the lawsuit, CAT alleged that negative comments made by town officials served as “marching orders” to the IDA and the board “bowed to political pressure” ahead of a 2023 town election during which Enterprise Park became a contentious issue.

Riverhead Town Attorney Erik Howard said tortious interference could be difficult to prove in court.

“While the case isn’t over, this decision is a big win that narrows legal paths for CAT to pursue,” Howard wrote in an email.

Future of the site

A notice of a pending lawsuit remains in place on the site, limiting the town’s options for the property until the legal issues are resolved.

But lawmakers and residents are envisioning the future of the site, where Grumman once built F-14 jets. After the plant closed, in 1998 the U.S. Navy sold the property to Riverhead for $1, intending it be used for economic development to offset 4,000 lost jobs and tax revenue.

John McAuliff, coordinator of the community group EPCAL Watch, said the town should conduct a "serious investigation” into the best long-term uses based on resident feedback and development specialists.

Past ideas have varied widely, from CAT’s aviation pitch to an indoor ski mountain and resort that failed to launch.

Mark Haubner, of Aquebogue, served on an ad-hoc committee formed by former Supervisor Tim Hubbard on the site's future — one Halpin said he intends to continue meeting with.

Haubner described Enterprise Park as a “blank canvas” that should most importantly generate lasting careers.

“That’s where we’re focused right now: Are people going to be able to get good jobs and stay in Riverhead or want to come to Riverhead?” Haubner said in an interview. “How many people go away to college and never come back? There’s a brain drain there.”