Business View Civil & Municipal | Volume 2, Issue 8

45 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 2, ISSUE 8 RIVER HEAD, NEW YORK Gateway to Prosperity S ituated on the seaside with craggy cliffs looking over the Long Island Sound and bounded on the south by the Peconic Bay and Peconic River, Riverhead is a New York community that is definitely on the grow. The town has historically served as a gateway to the Hamptons, the East End, the North and South Forks of Long Island, and the U.S. Northeast. This role has led Tracy Stark-James, Executive Director of the Riverhead Industrial Development Agency (RIDA) to coin its slogan, “All roads lead to Riverhead.” Founded in 1792, this diverse community of approximately 33,000 locals has seen a population boom since early 2020. The influx of newcomers out of Manhattan shifted its purpose from being a gateway and tourist destination to a year-long beach haven – a “very unusual” phenomenon for the town, according to Yvette Aguiar, Riverhead Town Supervisor. “Due to the pandemic, the entire North Fork, South Fork, and Riverhead has seen a large population growth, particularly since people wanted to leave New York City and enjoy the outdoors,” she explains. TOWN OF