Riverhead Roundup

Routing Rotors

The Eastern Region Helicopter Council is a New Jersey nonprofit which, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, has been a guiding force in determining flight paths of aircraft over the East End. For the past 10 years or longer, the noise from helicopters has affected Riverhead, in some cases the choppers flying low enough to make outdoor conversation difficult and even knocking items over from the rotor vibration. ERHC will hold a public forum on helicopter noise in Riverhead Town Hall’s board room on Tuesday, October 1, at 6 PM.

Supervisor Laura Jens-Smith says, “I encourage all residents who have been effected by helicopter noise to attend this meeting, and let your voice be heard,” said Riverhead Town Supervisor Laura Jens-Smith. “For too long the residents of Riverhead and the East End have had their quality of life damaged by the constant helicopter fly overs. This is an opportunity for residents to express just how much these policies have harmed them.”

Bike Share Comes To Town

A new bike-share program is coming to downtown Riverhead and the newly completed Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bike Trail at Calverton Enterprise Park.

Zagster, which is in partnership with Suffolk County, is providing the program at no cost to the town — a program already at work in Southampton and points west.

Supervisor Laura Jens-Smith said, “Bike share programs are a popular and easy form of transportation that I am excited to bring to Riverhead. These programs are an important part in the last-mile connection for public transportation, connecting people with Riverhead’s businesses, as well as making it easier for people to enjoy the recently completed Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bike Trail at EPCAL. This bike share program will be an incredible asset for our town, and for our residents.”

The bike share uses the Pace app for riders to rent, locate, and unlock the bikes, plus pay a fee. There are monthly memberships available. Six bike racks with 25 bikes will be available soon, and is part of a two-year pilot program.

Station Clean Up Continues

Volunteers will gather with gloves, shovels, and other tools on Saturday, September 28, at 8:30 AM to continue to work on revitalizing and beautifying the Riverhead train station. Building on the success of the past clean-ups, neighbors will plant, dig, and sweep.

This is the first clean-up since the news that Hampton Coffee Company will be occupying the long-vacant train station building.

SCCC’s CSA

Culinary students at Suffolk County Community College’s Culinary Arts program on Main Street in Riverhead are getting a lesson about farm-to-table cooking thanks to a relationship with Riverhead’s Zilnicki Farms and the farm’s community supported agriculture model.

“By utilizing the CSA model, we are able to purchase local produce and build farm-to-table into our instruction,” said Suffolk County Community College Eastern Campus executive dean Irene Rios.

“We will use the farm’s produce in classes to highlight the benefits of purchasing locally, supporting local farmers and Long Island’s agriculture community. We’ll also be exposing students to the farm’s website and online ordering platform,” Rios said.

“The Community Supported Agriculture model provides students with an understanding of the economics of food and farming while simultaneously supporting local farmers and spotlighting locally grown products,” said Suffolk County Community College interim president Louis Petrizzo.

bridget@indyeastend.com