Riverhead sues Scott's Pointe adventure park in Calverton over alleged code violations

Riverhead Town is taking legal action against a Calverton adventure park after its owners built a go-cart track, pickleball courts and party room without town approvals.

In a Suffolk Supreme Court filing July 3, the town seeks an injunction to stop Scott’s Pointe from using the amenities, which do not have certificates of occupancy. The town also asked the court to impose a $100,000 fine and restore the property to “pre-violation status” by removing the asphalt track and courts.

The legal action comes one month after town code enforcement officers and fire marshals issued a stop work order and four violations against the owners, according to Town Attorney Erik Howard. 

Scott's Pointe owner Eric Scott said he plans to fight the lawsuit, but his attorney Fred Johs of Islandia has not yet filed a response in court.

Scott’s Pointe opened on Middle Country Road in Calverton last fall with an indoor surf pool, rock climbing, laser tag, ax throwing, mini golf and other activities. It was first proposed more than 20 years ago.

Last month, it opened an outdoor adventure course and “bumper boats” in a 19-acre man made lake. A Newsday article last month touted a go-cart track and batting cages opening this summer — features town officials said weren’t part of the approved plans.

Town supervisor Tim Hubbard described the violations as a “brazen” disregard for town law.

“You’ve got to play by the rules,” he said Wednesday. “They absolutely knew what they had to do and just threw it right up in the town’s face. Quite honestly, we’re tired of having that happen, having people go ahead and do what they want and then pay for forgiveness later on.”

Town officials launched an investigation after the business promoted the go-cart track on social media and received a complaint about an unauthorized event space on the second floor of the facility, according to the filing.

The ¾-mile track and 50-by-100-foot pickleball court were built on a portion of the property that was supposed to remain “wooded,” under the approved site plan. A second floor of the indoor facility was to be used for offices, the plan said.

Scott told Newsday he built the track prematurely.

“I knew I did it wrong, but I tried to speed it up so we’d be open for the summer,” he said in an interview. “And now I’m being tortured.” 

Another summons was issued after investigators found the facility lacked an emergency responder radio coverage system required by state fire code. A fire marshal tested radios during a June 3 visit and noted they didn’t function inside the building, the complaint said.

Riverhead Town isn’t the only entity cracking down on operations at the park.

On June 26, the state Department of Environmental Conservation ordered the business to stop using the inflatable water course in the lake since it violates terms of the permit that allowed excavation of the groundwater-fed lake.

The DEC violation also said the go-cart track was partly built in an area authorized for mining and their parking lot is “significantly larger” than what was shown on the plans, which Scott has denied.

Fines for the violations could max out at $2,500 or include 15 days of jail, according to town code.

Howard said pursuing the case in supreme court “broadens the remedies” the town can get.

Howard said the business has been shown “leniency” in the past. Last summer, the owners hosted a private gathering before approvals were in place, though no violations were issued since it was not open to the public, Howard said.

“They were so close to the finish line, getting the approvals they needed to open, so we declined to go real hard on them at that point.”