(This is the last post you will receive as one of the 7108 signers of the original petition about preserving land at EPCAL. Further updates will be sent only to signers of the new petition addressing the actions of Riverhead government.)
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Our new petition to the Riverhead Industrial Development Agency (RIDA) has achieved 389 signers. If you have not done so already, with your signature and promotional help, we can reach 500 signers this week and present an initial list to RIDA. We are moved that 70% of us are from this region with a direct stake in what happens at EPCAL. Please urge friends, neighbors and on social media to grow our numbers by sharing this link https://www.change.org/saveEPCALnow
The graphic above was part of the Ghermezians' developmental plan submitted to the RIDA in September. It shows their intention to build ten million square feet of warehouses and support buildings for an air cargo distribution hub.
EPCAL Watch was a strong participant in the complete rejection of the Ghermezians plans by an overflow crowd of more than 300 at the Hotel Indigo, reported by the East End Beacon. Then we were invited to brief 112 people at a meeting of the Greater Calverton Civic Association, described by the Riverhead Local. The next week we spoke to 60 members of the Lake Panamoka Civic Association.
To stop the Ghermezians, we need to energize many more people all over Riverhead and in surrounding communities. If you belong to a civic association, organization, library or religious group that would like to learn about the situation at EPCAL, contact Kelly to set up a presentation this summer or fall <kellytheurer@aol.com>.
Drop a note to epcalwatch@gmail.com if you want to become personally active in the campaign to save Riverhead and our neighbors from an air cargo hub at EPCAL. We need to find a volunteer with artistic and design skills as well as folks to help distribute flyers at public events in the Riverhead area this summer like Live on 25. Contributions will be needed to cover costs of hand-outs and, if the IDA lets this proceed, for action in court.
If you live in eastern Long Island, consider going to the screening of Terra Nostra on Wednesday night at the Suffolk Theater in Riverhead. Its organizers have announced, "Audiences will be invited to participate in a conversation following the showing". In addition to seeing a moving film and hearing knowledgeable speakers, this is a great opportunity to reach out to regional environmentalists about the threat posed to the vital ecosystem of EPCAL.
--John McAuliff, EPCAL Watch