Downtown Group Seeks Inspiration from Oyster Bay

Organization. Promotion. Design. Economic Restructuring.

Such principals comprise a successful ‘Main Street Approach’ to revitalizing downtowns, according to someone who has seen firsthand.

And, he added, "Riverhead is the best place of all the places you could possibly be."

Isaac Kremer, executive director of the Oyster Bay Main Street Association, was welcomed by downtown group iloveriverhead on Wednesday night at the Riverhead Free Library, and shared his insight into how Riverhead can see similar changes as his own community has in recent years. Kremer said the Main Street Approach has been used in 1,600 communities nationwide, including Oyster Bay.

Over the last decade, the town of Oyster Bay has seen $30 million in public and private investments pour into its downtown. The investment paid off as businesses flocked to the area. Forty-six new businesses opened in downtown Oyster Bay during the decade and 75 percent of those businesses are still open, Kremer said during the hour-long meeting.

Kremer also pointed out the keys to success often seen in the Main Street Approach:  historic preservation, bottom-up grassroots approach, strong partnership with the public and private sector and working to generate results.

Riverhead Deputy Supervisor Jill Lewis was in the crowd of about 30 at the meeting and was encouraged by the advice offered by Kremer.

"I personally find that anyone who is working downtown and succeeding can be of help to us," she said. "I think our current town board has the right idea, and given time, they will be successful."

Many of Kremer’s keys to success are already happening in Riverhead, he was quick to point out. He noted the iloveriverhead group as a grassroots approach to seeking change and pointed to the new River and Roots downtown garden, Grangabel Park, the Farmer's Market and new restaurants like Dark Horse as evidence that Riverhead is on the right track.

Within the past two weeks, the town to come up with creative ideas to lure businesses downtown. Community Development Agency Director Chris Kempner said at the time that "basically anything going on downtown right now" is being partially funded with public funds, an indication that the public and private sectors are working hand-in-hand.

"By changing perceptions about downtown," Kremer said, "change doesn't have to take forever … at a certain point, the improvement just becomes inevitable."

Kremer passed on ideas to Riverhead from his success in Oyster Bay. He encouraged the town to apply to be part of the Preserve America initiative, even offering to write out the application himself. He pointed toward the Gold Coast Mansions Alliance and the National Trust for Historic Preservation as groups that Riverhead could invest in and benefit from.

"When you get some success, more success comes," Kremer said.