Letter: Riverhead track a noisy 'nightmare'
The Riverhead Raceway has been sold to a Wading River family that wants to keep the track open and expand its audience. The deal closed Aug. 14, 2015. The cars of Justin Bonsignore, left, and Howie Brode take some laps on July 30, 2011. Credit: Daniel Brennan
The article "Saving the racetrack" [News, Aug. 19], while noting that Riverhead Raceway is on the commercial corridor of Route 58, fails to mention that it is also a neighbor of residential developments and retirement communities. For decades, we've had to endure the earsplitting noise of NASCAR race cars that operate at decibel levels that would not be allowed anywhere near a residential setting if a track like this were built today.
I live a half mile from the track, and when the races run all day and into the night most Saturdays and occasional Sundays in the spring and summer, I cannot go outside to enjoy my backyard. This is no exaggeration.
The track is "grandfathered," having been built before the communities and the shopping. The owners past and present, including longtime owners Barbara and Jim Cromarty, haven't addressed the noise and quality-of-life issues the track creates.
While the Cromartys may shed a tear at selling the place for $4 million to others who apparently plan to continue even though it's an absolute nightmare for the rest of us, let's be clear: Their racetrack is not "a big part of the community," as Barbara Cromarty said. It only gives pleasure to a few hundred people who invade an already gridlocked Riverhead on summer Saturdays to indulge in their sport and trample our quality of life.
Mike Cuomo, Calverton
