The town of Riverhead is taking legal action against a Calverton adventure park after its owners built a go-kart track, pickleball courts and a party room without town approval.
In a July 3 filing in Suffolk Supreme Court, the city is seeking an injunction to prevent Scott's Pointe from using the facility, which does not have certificates of occupancy. The city also asked the court to impose a $100,000 fine and restore the property to its “pre-violation condition” by removing the asphalt track and courts.
The lawsuit comes a month after city code enforcement officers and fire officials issued a stop-work order and four violations against the owners, according to city attorney Erik Howard.
Scott's Pointe owner Eric Scott said he plans to contest the lawsuit, but his attorney Fred Johs of Islandia has not yet filed a response in court.
Scott's Pointe has opened on Middle Country Road in Calverton last fall with an indoor surf pool, rock climbing, laser tag, axe throwing, mini golf and other activities. It was first offered more than 20 years ago.
Last month, it opened an outdoor adventure course and “bumper boats” on a 19-acre man-made lake. A Newsday article last month touted karting track and batting cages that will open this summer — features that city officials said were not part of the approved plans.
Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard described the violations as a “brazen” disregard for municipal law.
“You have to follow the rules,” he said Wednesday. “They knew exactly what they had to do and they just shoved it in the city’s face. Honestly, we’re tired of seeing this happen, of seeing people do what they want and pay to be forgiven later.”
City officials launched an investigation after the business promoted the go-kart track on social media and received a complaint about an unauthorized event space on the property's second floor, the filing said.
The 1.2-mile track and 50-by-100-foot pickleball court were built on a portion of the property that was to remain “wooded,” according to the approved development plan. A second floor of the indoor facility was to be used for offices, according to the plan.
Scott told Newsday he built the track prematurely.
“I knew I made a mistake, but I tried to speed things up so we could open in the summer,” he said in an interview. “And now I’m tortured.”
Another subpoena was issued after investigators discovered the facility did not have an emergency radio coverage system required by state fire code. A fire chief tested the radios during a June 3 visit and found they did not work inside the building, according to the complaint.
Riverhead Town is not the only entity cracking down on operations in the park.
On June 26, the state Department of Environmental Protection ordered the company to stop using the lake's inflatable waterway because it violates the terms of a permit authorizing excavation of the groundwater-fed lake.
The DEC violation also stated that the kart track was partly built in an area permitted for mining and that their parking lot was “significantly larger” than what was shown on the plans, which Scott denied.
Fines for violations could reach $2,500 or 15 days in jail, according to city code.
Howard said taking the case to the Supreme Court “expands the remedies” available to the city.
Howard said the business has shown “leniency” in the past. Last summer, the owners held a private meeting before permits were granted, but no violations were found since the facility was not open to the public, Howard said.
“They were so close to the finish line, getting the necessary permits to open, that we refused to inflict heavy losses on them at that stage.”
