Neighbors fear demolition is a health hazard
As demolition crews tear down the historic Westinghouse building, residents are concerned about possible environmental contaminants being released from the demolition.
"It seems like they're just taking it down without talking to anyone in the neighborhood," said Rodney Slaughter, 49, who has lived on James Street for 20 years. "It's kind of like a sneak attack."
Another resident, Bill Chappel, 67, said he has spotted dust clouds and litter floating down the street from the site.
"We know that building is old enough to have lead dust in there," Chappel said. "It's my opinion there should be some close monitoring there by whoever is responsible in government."
Neil Midtgard, a city of Newark, NJ construction official who oversees demolition, said the building's owners secured the proper permits to tear down the building. The permits, he said, include scrubbing the site of all contaminants.
Midtgard said there was some asbestos that was already removed and the demolition crews will be responsible for properly disposing of floorboards and other materials with contaminants. The city will re-inspect the site after the demolition is done.
The land is contaminated with chlorinated solvents known as trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene, as well as petroleum products, said Lawrence Hajna, a spokesman for the Department of Environmental Protection. Workers are cleaning up those chemicals by pumping into the ground a substance called sodium persulfate, which speeds the breakdown of pollutants into harmless components, he said.
"In terms of the contaminants, the chemical contaminants inside the building, we don't feel there's anything to be overly concerned about during the demolition," Hajna said.
Midtgard said the state's uniform construction code only requires the owners to notify neighbors whose property abuts the one that is being torn down.
In this case, he said, that did not apply to the James Street residents.
"They don't have to inform them about the demolition," he said.
Jerry Valerius, a director of New West Urban Renewal, which owns the site and is affiliated with David Braka Jr.'s U.S. Realty and Investment Co., said construction is not likely to begin for another two or three years, once the real estate and credit markets improve.
The firm expects to build a "mixed use" development of homes and retail, but those plans won't become final until later this year, he said.
Miles Berger, the developer who owns the old Lincoln motel, which is also being redeveloped, said he has not completed his plans for that nearby site yet, but envisions a mixed retail and residential complex.
"The significance of its location is very strong in that it is the northern gateway into the city," Berger said of the Westinghouse building. "It's what everyone sees when they come into 280 and Broad Street. It's a very significant area of Newark and it is the site of the future of what I think will be Newark's real estate development future."
Christian Benedetto, a partner with National Redevelopment, a commercial real estate broker in Newark, said if the Westinghouse property is successfully redeveloped it would create a corridor linking the city's northern and southern corners.
"It's been a giant game of connect the dots," Benedetto said. "The border of downtown is slowly pushing north as well as slowly pushing south where Lincoln Park is really part of downtown. All the dots have been connected in what now is widely considered to be downtown."
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