Board Demands Answers About Proposed Farm Operation

A proposal for a farm on Route 25 in Calverton had some Riverhead town board members seeking answers at Thursday's work session.

The board wanted to know whether the parcel would be farmed -- or strip mined for sand, which would be resold at a high price, and then abandoned.

Orient residents Steven and Gretchen Mezynieski, owners of Driftwood Farms in Orient, came before the board for approval to begin excavation work at their Calverton parcel, which was previously the Zeh farm.

The farm, when purchased by the Mezynieskis, had fallen into disrepair and had been seen as an eyesore amongst residents.

Attorney Peter Danowski, representing the Mezynieskis, said he was under the opinion that farmers were exempt from any excavation ordinance. 

Danowski said all farmers should be treated equally and if his clients were asked to adhere to an excavation ordinance, all farmers should have to follow the same procedure.

Mezynieski said when he purchased the farm, it was in a "rundown condition, with dilapidated buildings -- it was a garbage dump. We've been cleaning it up."

The goal, he said, is to create a farm for his son; he would like to give each of his three children a farm of their own.

Danowski said a key point is that the Mezynieskis want to preserve prime soils on the farm. In addition, some individuals were racing motorcycles and other recreational vehicles on the site, so deer fencing was put in place. 

Councilman John Dunleavy said Meyznieski had done a good job of renovating the buildings on the site.

The couple, who raise privet out in Orient, were hit hard by Hurricane Sandy. "We just got destroyed when the dikes broke out there," Meyznieski said. "We have had some severe financial damage."

His hope is to recoup some of his losses by selling some of the sand on his Calverton parcel and using some of the sand out in Orient in the rehabilitation project.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter asked about the volume of sand coming from the Calverton property; the amount totals approximately 415,000 cubic yards.

Walter asked if farming were Meyznieski's only profession.

"Honestly, I own an excavating in Southampton," he said.

Mezynieski said his family moved to Wainscott in the 1920s and were potato farmers; his father was an East Hampton police officer and his mother drove a school bus.

He began his excavating business but always dreamed of farming, Mezynieski said.

"We purchased three farms in Orient that were in complete disarray and turned them into working farms," he said, adding that his hope was to do the same in Riverhead and that he was acting in good faith. "We are leading by example. There's no hidden agenda here."

Mezynieski's oldest son, Cole, 17, has been working on the parcel every day after school, he said. "When this is all said and done, this will be his farm," he said. "This is the next generation, growing up in Riverhead and becoming farmers."

Mezynieski said he understood the board's concern but had no intention of strip mining the site and cutting out of town. "The end result here will be a finished farm," he said.

Dunleavy said Mezynieski was in an "unfortunate position after what's been happening  in the Town of Riverhead -- people digging holes and moving sand and selling it, and not planting." Having seen the Calverton parcel, Dunleavy said, "I know you're going to do an honest thing."

Mezynieski said he has spent hundreds of thousands to clean up the farm.

Councilman George Gabrielsen asked if the sand from the parcel was targeted for another location or if it was going to be sold; Mezynieski said it would be sold, with some being utilized in Orient, to rebuild 7000 feet of dikes that were destroyed by Sandy.

"Farmers out there were destroyed,"  Danowski said. "Much of his privet crop was killed and he needs to replant soon -- this is the goal."

Mezynieski said one reason he purchased industrial property is because there are things that cannot be done on agricultural reserve property land. 

Mezynieski said he would farm the land in sections. "I don't want to strip mine the whole place," he said. "I'm not going to have some huge farming operation. If you do a small section at a time you re-acclimate the soils."

And, he said, by phasing the buildout, the town would reserve the right to come in and tell him to cease operations if he were acting in a way other than discussed.

"That way you don't have a 40 acre open mine site," he said. "If you don't like it, it stops before it's started."

Walter said his fear had been that Mezynieski would would take out $2 million of sand after paying only a half million for the property, "and then, that he'd come in and clear cut the property." 

Counciwoman Jodi Giglio asked Mezynieksi if it turned out that he ever decided to be an industrial and not an agricultural operation, if he would pay $2 per yard for removal of materials. 

Giglio said there would be "wear and tear" on Edwards Avenue from the removal of  material. "We have no problem if it's a farm operation because we want to preserve farms."

Mezynieski said he had no problem with Giglio's suggestion.

Walter said he'd like to do a bit more research on drainage and other issues, but said his fears were "allayed" by the concept of a phased approach. 

"This will mean another generation of a farming family in Riverhead," Mezynieski said.

Walter said he understood the time constraints and the need to embark upon remediation in Orient, and said the town would do its due diligence quickly.