Relates to the conveyance of land formerly used as an armory to the town of Riverhead in the county of Suffolk

BILL NUMBER:S4404

Title of bill

An act in relation to the conveyance of land formerly used as an armory to the town of Riverhead, county of Suffolk

Purpose

To direct the Commissioner of General Services to transfer approximately 5.7 acres of the former NYS Armory to the Town of Riverhead to enhance public safety and afford the Town an opportunity to continue and improve the recreational youth programs hosted at the former NYS Armory site.

Summary of provisions

Section 1 authorizes the commissioner of General Services to convey a 5.7 acre parcel to the Town of Riverhead.

Section 2 gives a description of the property.

Section 3 requires an application within one year of the act.

Section 4 provides that the property shall be used as a police department, justice court and for public safety programs and recreation. Upon termination of said use, the land shall revert to the State.

Justification

In 1953, this parcel was owned by the Town of Riverhead Water District. The division of Military & Naval Affairs sought to utilize this property for an armory site and the Town agreed to transfer this parcel for the express purpose of improvement and construction of an armory and subject to a reverter of the property upon termination of the use as an armory. As Section 112 of the State Financial Law prohibited reverter or conditional language clauses in the conveyance of real property to the State, the Town agreed to strike the reverter clause and convey the 5.7 acre site to the State for the nominal consideration of $500 which covered the expenses of the conveyance.

As the use of the property as an armory has been discontinued, the Town now desires to reacquire the property and relocate the Town of Riverhead Police Department and Justice Court. The Police Department and Justice Court are currently located in the same building and compete for the limited space necessary to provide safety and services to the members of the public. The Police Department does not have adequate space for equipment, storage or staff, including dispatch personnel responsible for all emergency response within the Town of Riverhead. The Justice Court does not have adequate space to accommodate necessary court personnel or proper facilities to transact court business. Due to the limited space, together with inadequate parking around the Police Department and Justice Court, the Police Department is required to store equipment and emergency police vehicles at various locations within

the Town and leases space from the fire district for storage. The Juvenile Aid Bureau, an integral part of the Town of Riverhead Police Department responsible for and committed to the development of programs designed to reach out to the youth of the community and establish positive relationships, prevent juvenile delinquency and other behavior that impacts the quality of life of the community, has for the past forty-six years, leased a portion of the Armory.

The improvements that exist on the site are well suited for Police Department and Justice Court use and will require minimal renovation and will meet the demands for space to accommodate equipment, storage, staff and parking and improve and expand the Juvenile Aid Bureau programs.

This site is centrally located in the Town on a major east-west roadway that extends several miles and serves to connect the eastern and western most boundaries of the Town such that emergency response time will be reduced.

Legislative history

New legislation.

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

Immediately.