Acquisition of North Fork Preserve almost complete
Riverhead Supervisor Sean Walter has signed contracts to acquire, along with Suffolk County, the 306-acre North Fork Preserve in Northville as open space.
The county last year reached an agreement to partner with the town on the acquisition.
The deal, whose final price tag was not immediately known, now needs approval of the county Legislature.
The site is actually split into two parcels under different ownership entities: The 133.27-acre northern parcel is owned by Myron Kaplan and the estate of Robert Krudop, and the 172.9-acre southern parcel is owned by North Fork Preserve, Inc. There are two contracts, according to county officials.
The acquisition proposal calls for the town to pay 10 percent of the cost of a 90-acre portion of the southern piece, which will be used for active recreation.
The Town Board in December approved a resolution to authorize up to $500,000 in Community Preservation Fund money for that purchase. The CPF money comes from a voter-approved 2 percent tax on all real estate sales.
“The Town of Riverhead is partnering with the county with a monetary contribution for the southern half,” Pamela green, the director of the county’s Division of Real Property said in emails. The contracts have been returned from the Town of Riverhead. The County is now proceeding toward obtaining final legislative approval.”
Editor’s note: The March 12 newspaper version of this story indicates the Riverhead supervisor may have not yet signed the contracts.
County officials updated the News-Review after presstime.
