Big Web push to draw more to downtown Riverhead
Downtown's abuzz online; gives hope for real thing
21 comments below
School bus drivers Joe Rohan (left) of Copiague and Carmen Rios of Lindenhurst relax at the Peconic Riverfront park as they wait for the children they transported to Atlantis Marine World Saturday afternoon. Momentum is growing on the Web to help draw more people downtown, and more often.
Fans of the beleaguered but beautiful shopping district are gathering daily to talk about upcoming events such as Saturday's Long Island Kayakathon, the summer concert series and the town's first photography contest.
There are even about 1,500 people pushing to bring a Trader Joe's specialty grocery store to Riverhead.
Keith Krzyzewski of Southampton (left) nets bunker for bait and Mike Fallon of Gettysburg, Pa., checks out places to fish while he's camping at Wildwood State Park in Wading River. When asked what he thought about the Peconic Riverfront park, Mr. Fallon said, 'It's beautiful. It's super that you have a public park here.' Downtown enthusiasts say Riverhead abounds with natural resources other downtown areas can only envy.
"I think we're just trying to promote some positive aspects and it seems like this is the newest way people are communicating," said Lisa Jacobs, director of Riverhead Free Library. Ms. Jacobs just recently launched a Facebook group for the library, which now has 140 members.
"It's the new word of mouth," she said of blogs and social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.
The site was unveiled last month. It was designed and is operated by Nancy Swett of Jamesport, who also runs the popular NorthForkParents.com Web site.
Though still in draft form, the Riverhead site will ultimately contain calender items, promotions for upcoming events, blogs, news updates and advertisements, Ms. Swett said.
But the ultimate goal is to bring bodies downtown.
"The concept is to sort of bring people and friends together online over a common interest, and then sort of bring them to an actual place," she said. "That's what the town wants."
Ms. Swett was recruited to create and run the Web site by Riverhead's head of community development, Christine Kempner, as well as other town officials and downtown business owners who meet semi-regularly in what's come to be called the Downtown Roundtable.
Right now the site is a "labor of love," Ms. Kempner said when asked if Ms. Swett is paid for her services. "But, eventually, it will be advertiser-supported."
The goal of the Downtown Roundtable is the same as that of ILoveRiverhead.com: To help save a once-vibrant shopping district that today is plagued by vacant buildings and empty storefronts.
"Family entertainment is what we really want to do," Ms. Kempner said of the group's vision for downtown. "And the whole movement now is in social networking. It's a low-cost marketing tool and it's really the way the world is moving."
Aside from the fans on ILoveRiverhead.com, Ms. Kempner said her phone is ringing more often with calls from investors suddenly interested in downtown.
And more foot traffic on Main Street should mean even more phone calls, the theory goes.
According to Ms. Swett, "The best thing that could happen is that the site helps in getting more activity downtown, and maybe helps determine what people want, to help get things going a little bit more."
Her vision for downtown would be a bustling commercial and social center for local families and tourists alike.
"There's really very little space in this town where people could just come together and gather and just enjoy the day," she said. "There's no playground downtown where children could just run around and the parents can enjoy some coffee. Just have that sense of community."
Just last week, Ms. Swett e-mailed the site's first newsletter, called the iloveriverhead eDispatch, to online subscribers.
After explaining the project's mission, she wrote: "It's not all going to be online and e-mail high-tech nonsense. It's going to be on-the-ground, in-person, on-the-street.
"That's what's missing when we don't have a downtown."
mwhite@timesreview.com
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21 comments found
a great place to shop... : 6/22/2009
for trendy and not so trendy clothes, jewelry and sneakers, and so much more... JEANSTOWN!! their prices are competitive and it's one of the few retailers left downtown... show riverhead you support downtown and shop jeanstown... right next to julia's pizza (great chicken rolls!)... keep the ideas coming folks! together we can not only bring riverhead back, but make it better than ever!
: 6/21/2009
I don't even live in Riverhead and I'm excited about this project!
iloveriverhead.com : 6/20/2009
Those comments were just fantastic. I wish someone would have mentioned the Blue Door Gallery- an asset for downtown Riverhead. We need to support her so she can stay open. She said she has a lot of customers who come over from Westhampton Beach and bring friends along to shop. Hizir Baba is great and Partos Pizza has a really good Grandmother's pie and the only place to get gelato downtown.
Nancy : 6/20/2009
Hi, it's me, Nancy. Thanks so much. It sounds like I should be sainted or something! Gosh. Ugh! I don't know what the heck I'm doing, I need help! LOL.
Riverhead : 6/20/2009
There is something very peaceful about this place....calming if you will. We know more people here than we did in all of the cities in which we lived throughout our adult lives.
Downtown Riverhead : 6/19/2009
I moved to a new townhouse community close to downtown Riverhead four years ago because I saw so much promise...and I still do. So many of us find ourselves on the weekends traveling to West Hampton, Greenport or other downtowns that are thriving to have a nice evening. I would love to stay in downtown riverhead but there is nothing to do. There is so much potential though. The riverfront is just gorgeous and I just don't understand the lack of interest in bringing business here. I know so many in our community don't want the "branded" stores in our downtown but if you look at communities that were depressed that made a major turnaround i.e. West Palm Beach, FL, Alexandria, Virginia, these type of stores helped to bring people to the community. There is nothing in the town to bring people here. Has anyone thought to contact Tanger and discuss relocating some of the home furnishing type stores like Restoration, Potterbarn annex, Williams Sonoma, to the downtown. Unfortunately, I think the days of the "mom and pop" shops are over at least when it comes to storefronts. Downtown Riverhead could be a mix of housing communities, restaurants, artist colony, with home furnishing type stores for people to poke around in. You can create a mini Tanger Type III in the town with a focus on smaller stores that focus on the home. The trolley services would leave Tanger and bring people to the town to do what they love to do shop and eat. Also, Trader Joes is an excellant Idea. A fitness Center, LA fitness or something of the like should also be in the downtown. There is plenty of space for one. Keeping in the same theme "health" a healthy juice bar would be a good addition. A wine bar another excellant idea. How about replacing the american flags that are tattered. Also, sidewalks. I don't think any of us would mind a reasonable one year raise in our taxes to replace those sidewalks...they are simply dangerous! We need trendy places to go eat and spend time with friends. Riverhead has a lot of potential which is why so many of us have stayed here but we would love to see some progress and new ideas.
great job : 6/19/2009
Nancy is doing a great job purely out of her love for Riverhead. It's a lot of time and effort for no other gain than helping this town get un-stuck. Through this effort, maybe things will finally change for the better.
Riverhead : 6/19/2009
I love Riverhead and always have. I no longer live on the area, but when ever I think of Long Island I remember how nice it was have the town of Riverhead just around the corner. Riverhead offers you that small home town feel. The people are interesting and funny and always willing to talk. You have the river walk, shopping, and dinning all with-in a small town setting. If you are looking for a place to call home or open up a business Riverhead is the town you want to be looking at.
More arts, too! : 6/19/2009
Thank you so much for putting your heart into all this work for Riverhead, Nancy. It seems like we at the EEAC have been wracking our brains for years trying to get things going, but it is SLOW going! We just have to hang in there, because, little by little, things are getting better. What a great little art and commerce and walk-around downtown this could be!! And I want Eastenders back!! Let's keep on keeping on!
Trader Joe's : 6/19/2009
Good ideas, a wonderful goal. Bring back the vitality that once was Riverhead. A Trader Joe's in downtown Riverhead will give us a reason to be there. I used to shop at Swezey's and some of the other stores, but there is little reason to go to Main Street now. Everything is on Route 58. Riverhead has so much potential. Get a few of the outlet stores in downtown, add a Trader Joe's, and watch the revitalization begin.
Downtown Riverhead : 6/19/2009
When I was a child, there was lots of shopping to do on Main St. in Riverhead. I've been saddened to see the whole downtown area die, slowly but surely. The weekend events through the summer and fall are great, but all those empty stores on Main St. are downright depressing. Bring downtown Riverhead back to life! The only new sign of life I've seen is Hizir-Baba Cafe, the Turkish restaurant on the riverfront by Atlantis. It's great, with a pretty view. Let's support it, and encourage more businesses...maybe if the landlords made the rents reasonable, more business owners would give it a try!
keep up the good work... : 6/19/2009
keep up the momentum... keep people talking and hopefully we'll see some action... a downtown playground would be great... splash fountains would be welcomed on hot summer days... some family friendly activities... a place to feed the ducks... it doesn't have to cost a fortune to be benefit and see things start to turn around... again, keep up the good work and know that it's appreciated!
Downtown : 6/18/2009
Great job Nancy! If we are going to see any change downtown then we need to change how things are done in town starting with the town board. Looking foward to the next news letter! Thanks Nancy and Chris!
Brilliant! : 6/18/2009
A grass roots effort is absolutely what's needed. We have a detailed Master Plan, we just need to apply the clear goals and objectives necessary. We know exactly what we want downtown. When the town planners that brought us Route 58 have left the building (early retirement anyone?), we can focus fresh eyes on Main Street. The Retailification of Riverhead hasn't enriched my life all that much. My taxes are not significantly lower because of Big Box stores. Are yours? The Downtown Arts District is a myth. The Suffolk Theater has proven to be an elusive dream-project. Why? Passionate local citizens like Ms Swett and Ms Kempner can jumpstart the process again, provide the dialogue and hopefully the initiative that we desperately require to move forward. Brilliant.
Downtown Riverhead : 6/18/2009
I think that we should be ashamed of the way Rte. 58 has been allowed to sprawl, while downtown Riverhead shrivels into nothingness! We need fewer box stores and more interesting, unique places to go. We need a playground downtown where families can meet, where kids can be rewarded with play time after shopping, and where people can talk to each other! A bookstore that isn't a mega-giant chain, affordable restaurants, boutiques, a movie theater, a community theater-- all of these would bring residents and tourists alike! They would foster a sense of community that is being lost in today's world, and they would give us a sense of pride in our location. Riverhead is the gateway to both forks, and as such is a really important town--I would love to preserve our small-town feel rather than have chain stores take us over.
downtown development : 6/18/2009
Riverhead has a great library, and locating it on the riverfront would have increased patronage, (think reading room overlooking the river), and downtown foot/retail traffic. Since it's too late for that - it seems to me that a Trader Joe's location downtown would have a similar positive impact, though noisier because of it's trucks and carts, If an "anchor" store like Trader Joe's were to be convinced to open downtown, it would still be up to other downtown retailers and enterpreneurs to figure out a way to attract visiting shoppers to their existing or new businesses to spend some time and money in town.
Downtown : 6/18/2009
Great article on a very pressing local issue. The combination of Chris Kemper and Nancy Swett has a lot of potential to turn things around. It's got to come from residents and the town. We are the ones who care, NOT the investors. Thanks News-Review for covering this great effort, and thanks Nancy and Chris for leading it!
iloveriverhead : 6/18/2009
This is a wonderful, positive movement--something to emulate in every organization in the Town of Riverhead. We all need to work together to make Riverhead shine!
Great Job! : 6/18/2009
Nancy Swett does an incredible job keeping all of the North Fork informed about local events. Her love and enthusiasm for Riverhead and the surrounding areas are an encouraging sign for our community. She and her family contribute much positivity to our Town. Great job, Nan!!! And thanks, News-Review, for highlighting her efforts.
iloveriverhead.com : 6/18/2009
I hope the new website will bring new life to downtown, it is such a beautiful place that has been neglected for so long....these efforts will not go unoticed! We must rally together for the future of our town!! Roller Rink, anyone??
iloveriverhead.com : 6/18/2009
Thanks so much, Michael! Great pix, Barbaraellen!
