Long Island residents are being hit with a $7M property tax bill after the town of Riverhead lost a lawsuit against the Friar’s Head golf course. The town owes over $7 million in refunds, roughly $6 million of which stem from a shoddy tax assessment. Some homeowners were left shocked after noticing a 160% increase in their property tax bills without warning. The dispute stemmed from a previous dispute between Riverhead and the golf club, which first challenged the town's high assessment of its 350-acre property in 2008. A Suffolk County judge ruled that the town had overstated the club's value and reduced its appraisals by roughly 60% to about $10 to $11 million. The tax refund had ballooned to almost $4.5 million plus an extra $1.6 million in accrued interest.