Methadone Clinic Rumor 'Not True'

Rumors swirling around Riverhead about a new methadone clinic possibly moving into the old Internal Revenue Service office space on East Main Street are just that: rumors

"It's not true," Donna Mahoney, a principal with the company that owns the property, East Main Street Riverhead LLC, said Tuesday. 

Mahoney said she has also been approached with concerns raised by locals who heard the rumors, and hoped to put the misconceptions to rest.

There is, however, is a lease out on the property, and negotiations are ongoing. Since no lease has been signed yet; further details on the deal cannot be released, Mahoney said.

Of the possible new tenant, she said, "I don't think they would be a problem for anyone." 

Although no one is certain where the rumors about a methadone clinic started, both Mahoney and others have heard the gossip. "I don't know how things like this get started," Mahoney said. "People have misinformation -- there are fierce rumormongers."

A methadone clinic is a site where methadone is distributed to those who abuse heroin and other drugs; the idea of such an establishment coming to downtown Riverhead sparked some concerns.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter said on Monday that he, too, had heard the rumors. "There's a lot of hype," he said. Walter himself said while he had heard the speculation, he was not immediately able to discern whether there was any truth to the talk. 

Mahoney added, "It has been a question that has been asked of me  -- and it is not true."

In years on East Main Street, the  and relocated operations to its Hauppauge office.

The office, which employed five people and is located directly across the street from  and the , closed on Thursday, Jan. 26.

Behind, it will leave about 3,200 in office space, which is currently zoned as DC-4 (office, residential transition). According to the town code, DC-4 allows for office and professional space, single-family dwelling units, townhouses, places of worship, funeral homes, and a few other special permitted uses. 

Mahoney said that considering the existing infrastructure on the site, she has no plans to build residential units. A few other offices already occupy adjoining office space on the site, including Social Security Administration, a law office, a New York State agency, a dentist, and some others.

Mahoney said that should someone express interest, though not for 3,200 square feet, she could subdivide the space into smaller units around 1,000 to 1,200 square feet.