Riverhead may revive condemnation of L.I. Science Center building

A majority of the Riverhead Town Board seems prepared to move ahead with condemnation of the Long Island Science Center’s East Main Street building, with several board members saying they have lost confidence the long-delayed project will move forward.

The issue came before the board at its March 26 work session after the science center, which board members said had been invited to provide an update on its downtown plans, did not appear.

“I think time’s up,” Council Member Denise Merrifield said.

Merrifield said the board was prepared in April 2025 to move forward with condemnation proceedings but agreed to hold off after science center representatives said the project would open in summer 2025.

More coverage:
Facing eminent domain, L.I. Science Center pitches two-phase plan to Riverhead Town (April 11, 2025)
Riverhead to drop bid to seize L.I. Science Center building via eminent domain (May 19, 2026)

She said those assurances were repeated multiple times and never materialized.

The Long Island Science Center purchased the building at 111 East Main Street in April 2020 for $1.45 million. Then-Supervisor Yvette Aguiar at the time hailed the purchase as a “heart transplant” for downtown Riverhead. The science center’s plans for the building, unveiled at a press conference in February 2020, would provide space for interactive exhibits and activities, displays and classrooms. 

The science center has never opened and the building remains vacant, Merrifield said, adding that the project still lacks building permits and a clear path to completion.

Long Island Science Center longtime board member Larry Oxman has previously accused town officials of obstructing the nonprofit’s plan to build a new museum. He said officials have blocked necessary permits and repairs to renovate the former Swezey’s Department Store building, and are intent on taking the property.

Read more: L.I. Science Center: Town is obstructing museum plans, as Riverhead inches closer to taking Main Street building (March 18, 2025)

Merrifield also said today the unresolved status of the property is complicating the town’s adjacent town square project, which was designed with the science center as a key activation component.

“To be a successful town square, it was always necessary for an activation, and that science center has not … become that,” she said.

Council Member Ken Rothwell said he still believes in the science center concept but questioned whether the organization has the capacity to deliver the project after years of delays and little visible progress.

He said the town must also consider conditions at the property, citing concerns about the building’s structural integrity and safety.

“This board must provide safe passage for people within that town square traveling on Main Street,” Rothwell said.

Rothwell said that if the science center does not come forward with a credible response, he would provide the third vote needed for the board to proceed with condemnation at its next meeting.

Read more: Riverhead Town poised to move forward on acquiring L.I. Science Center site on town square

Halpin said he still wants the public to hear directly from the science center before the town takes that step, but agreed the town should continue preparing to act.

The town previously moved toward condemnation of the property in 2025, then backed away after the science center presented revised plans and asked for more time to move the project forward.

The board agreed to revisit the issue at its next work session, where L.I. Science Center representatives are now expected to appear.

Oxman said in a phone interview Friday afternoon that he was surprised to learn the matter had been on the agenda for Thursday’s work session. He said he contacted the supervisor’s office on Tuesday to request a meeting on April 2 instead of March 26.

Supervisor Jerry Halpin said the organization on Monday had indicated that board members would attend the Thursday work session. Then, late Tuesday, longtime Science Center board member Larry Oxman contacted him to say he would not be at that week’s meeting. Halpin said he understood, however, that other Science Center board members would still appear to discuss the situation.