No More Sandy-Damaged Cars at EPCAL

After extending its contract with the Town of Riverhead in mid-May, Insurance Auto Auctions has got rid of all of its cars damaged by Hurricane Sandy which were previously stored at Enterprise Park at Calverton.

The storage of the cars raised some eyebrows at the time, with some saying that thousands of damaged automobiles were unsafe to be parked in the area. While the state permitted those on the runway at EPCAL to remain, cars on grassland at the site were forced to be pulled off.

IAA initially held a six-month lease with the town with a three-month extension option. However after negotiating with the town, a one-month extension was granted in May.

Supervisor Sean Walter estimated the town pocketed $1.8 million from playing host to the cars. He said some of the funds would be allocated to the town's fund balance. Others could be spent toward a matching grant the town has applied for in upgrading its sewer system – a project that is expected to cost up to $20 million.
Walter said he would like to see some of the money made off the EPCAL lands re-invested in the area.

"As Councilman (John) Dunleavy likes to say, sometimes you have to spend money to make money," he said.

What would you like to see the town do with its proceeds from the Sandy-damaged cars?