Peggy Richards, whose Greenport home was destroyed by fire in February, is frustrated.
After waiting for the results of an asbestos test, so that demolition can proceed on her Kaplan Avenue house, Richards said this week that after she sent a sample to the lab, she was “elated” when she was told there was “no asbestos detected” with <1.0 percent asbestos recorded.
However, the results also said the test was “inconclusive” and the bottom line, Richards said, is that the village is asking for another, $2,000 test.
“I was expecting for this to be over and to have the rubble that used to be my family home, finally gone. And you guys pull the rug out from under me again?” she said.
Greenport Village Mayor George Hubbard confirmed that a new test will be done tomorrow by Cashin Associates, a Hauppauge-based environmental firm. The first, $50 test, Hubbard said, was “inconclusive” and because the sample was sent in by Richards herself and not a testing company, the village needs another test, which will cost $2,000; the issue of who will pay for the test will be determined after the results have been received, Hubbard said.
Hubbard said Cashin will take approximately 25 samples from around the property and the village has asked for results to be expedited, and should be returned by Monday or Tuesday.
“No one can touch the property or begin demolition until we have the test done,” Hubbard said. “If the test comes back positive, it will change the whole ballgame.” Should the test be positive, the entire cleanup will have to proceed in a different direction, the mayor said, and the costs could change to allow for asbestos remediation.
“If it is positive, we’ll have to decide who’s going to do what, and how we get rid of the burnt out shell,” he said. “We don’t want to rush this. For the safety of the neighbors, we want to be sure this is done properly.”
At a recent village board meeting, neighbor Chatty Allen raised some concern about asbestos, especially in the spring season with all the windows open and children in the neighborhood.
Richards, who said she was ready to commence demolition two weeks ago, was held up when the village requested an asbestos test.
“The issue is, if the testing is not needed, they are targeting me. If it is needed, our building department was truly lax in letting it go for two months. It was also hard on me having made all the arrangements for the demo. I thought I was finally done, ready to say good-bye to my home, and they pulled this out at the very last possible moment,” she said.
Last month, the Greenport Village planning board denied an appeal of the notice of public nuisance made by Richards for the parcel, located at 415 Kaplan Avenue.
The notice was served on March 11, and “directed the property owner to abate the public nuisance by completing the demolition and removal of the structure and remaining portions of the structure of the property, removing all remaining debris, properly grading and restoring the property to be in harmony and conformity with the maintenance standards of the adjacent properties.”
Richards, who has been homeless since the fire and recently moved into a new apartment on 5th street, said she appealed because a five-day notice is served if the building was an immediate “fire hazard”; otherwise,she said, the normal time period was 21 days.
The planning board’s denial of her appeal sent the issue to the village board, who passed a resolution recently.
Hubbard said, due to a “change in circumstances since the creation of the agenda, the text read as a “resolution denying the appeal of Margaret Richards of the April 2, 2015 decision of the Greenport Village Planning Board and authorizing the Village of Greenport to commence an action in New York State Supreme Court under New York State General Municipal Law Section 78-b and Greenport Village code Chapter 90 to demolish the portions of the building remaining at 415 Kaplan Avenue and remove the debris from the property and to take such action as necessary to remedy the nuisance and unsafe conditions at the property.”
Richards said at the village board meeting that her bank had donated the money for the demolition and she had a contractor ready to tear down the structure, but was stopped by Village Administrator Paul Pallas, who said the property needed to be tested for asbestos, with an asbestos certificate needed, to the tune of a $5,000. Hubbard said the village went with a less costly $2,000 test.
“I really feel targeted,” Richards said. “Now you are telling me you are taking me to court.”
Hubbard said that resolution was only written that way to protect the village in the event that the demolition didn’t take place. He said the issue of asbestos only came up the day before last week’s meeting.
Village attorney Joseph Prokop said the asbestos issue “was brought to our attention by an outside party” and the village was working to see if an asbestos certificate was required.
While finding shelter at the parsonage of the First Universalist Church of Southold, Richards faced the unthinkable as the church she loved deeply was also destroyed by a raging blaze. She also found the lifeless bodies of her beloved pets in the ruins of her former home.
Richards and her partner Ken MacAlpin, along with a tenant, escaped into the frigid February night unharmed as their home burned, but were left with nothing. The community stepped forward to help, setting up a donation drive and a Go Fund Me page.
