Riverhead: Tanger/Big Box/Farmland/Suburb?

Esperanza and Irwin explore Riverhead's changes when the Tanger Mall arrived in the 1990s.   Riverhead still lays claim as the Suffolk County Seat, despite most government departments moving to office space up island in Hauppague.   Did Tanger, and the subsequent onset of big box retailers and chain stores help to offset that loss at the expense of ushering in a more suburban rather than rural feel for the community?   For those on the North and South Fork's, the convenience of having these options within an hours drive was probably a benefit.   It also helped keep large scale retail development away from the South Fork in particular, a fear we touched on in our episode about Bridgehampton Commons.    But there were ramifications for Riverhead's historic downtown as well.