Riverhead, NY - August 14, 2014 - The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced today that the shuttered Long Island Rail Road station building at the Riverhead train station will reopen next month as dispatch headquarters for a local taxi company.
Under the terms of a 10-year lease with Islandwide Transportation, the waiting room and restrooms inside the 104- year-old structure will be open to LIRR customers during peak weekday travel hours, weekdays from 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. and again from 7 p.m.to 8 p.m.
Islandwide will pay the LIRR an escalating annual rent that starts at $19,000 in the first year of the lease and rises annually to reach $24,790 in the tenth year. It will also make any needed repairs at its own expense and be solely responsible for maintaining the building and surrounding exterior area.
“We hope Islandwide Transportation’s presence at the station will provide an extra convenience for our customers and improve conditions there,” said LIRR President Patrick Nowakowski. “It’s also a plus that the waiting room and restroom will be reopened during part of the peak travel periods. Riverhead is a resurgent, vibrant community that has worked hard to improve its business district. The LIRR wants to be part of that effort.”
Islandwide responded to an RFP issued in 2012 by the MTA, which handles real estate transactions for the LIRR and the other MTA operating agencies. MTA Real Estate received proposals from three bidders and the offer from Islandwide was determined to be most lucrative.
The LIRR continues to operate ticket vending machines at Riverhead, but closed its ticket office and the station building due to low ridership.
Riverhead Station, located at Osborne Ave. and Railroad St., is on the Greenport Branch of the LIRR’s Main Line has been in operation since 1845. The current building dates to 1910 and is located near the non-profit Railroad Museum of Long Island, where a collection of historic Long Island Rail Road cars and maintenance equipment is housed.