Supe: New Bowling Alley Could Open By Summer

A long-awaited bowling alley at the intersection of Routes 58 and Route 25 in Riverhead may be open for business by summer.

For days, residents have noticed a flurry of activity at the site, with workmen toiling to breathe new life into the long abandoned building.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter said on Thursday residents eager to get their bowling shoes on might not have long to wait. "The bowling alley principles have told me it will be open this summer," Walter said.

Originally, developer Joe Albanese planned to open Bowl 58 at the location, but although he got the green light for tax abatements and a certificate of occupancy, plans were scrapped and the

Businessman Jeffrey Rimland, Walter said, who now owns the building, told him that plans were moving forward, with a goal to open the doors of the bowling alley in time for the summer season.

In February, the  request for tax abatements to move forward with developing the parcel.

At the time, Riverhead School Board President Ann Cotton-DeGrasse spoke out against the tax abatement at a public hearing, even getting down one one knee and Tebowing to make her point -- that the district is struggling and tax abatements should not be granted to local businesses.

Walter said the news comes after other harbingers of revitalization in Riverhead,  including , plans for the to open a third location on Main Street, a taking over a former bank site, and a new  with classes to be held at the East End Arts Council.

And, Walter said, even more new businesses planning to open in Riverhead soon: "There are more coming," he said.

Rimland did not immediately return a call for comment.