This Trump plan may be bad for business.
Retailers in the Trump Village Shopping Center are worried that state-ordered work to clean toxic dirt below the soon-to-be development site will hurt local stores. Developers plan to build a 41-story tower and retail center atop the site at the corner of Neptube Avenue and W. Fifth Street, but first the National Grid has to haul away two Olympic pools’ worth of hazardous dirt left behind by a manufactured gas plant. One of the lot’s dirtiest spots is right under a loading dock businesses there use to receive deliveries.
Remediators must come up with a plan to give shopkeepers access to the loading dock, because bringing merch in through the front door is inelegant and potentially dangerous, a rep for one of the companies said.
“Some of the stores that remain open are counting on that rear alleyway for their delivery trucks, because it’s extremely unsafe to bring trucks into a parking lot with pedestrians and people that are parking their cars,” said Ben Weinstock, a lawyer for Dee II, during a public meeting with National Grid and the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation on Oct. 6.
Developer Cammeby’s International plans to knock down the first half of the shopping center in the next few months so engineers can start the remediation in January. And once the clean up gets underway, Dee II will lose access to the loading dock. But the actual department store isn’t slated to get the wrecking ball until the second phase of demolition and will still be open for business as contractors and engineers work around them.
Dee II owner Morris Dweck wants to work with Cammeby’s International owner Rubin Schron to provide a safe shopping area for his customers even as contractors start work, he said.
“We want to ensure the safety of our customers and make sure they have a convenient, safe, and harmless place to continue their shopping experience,” said Dweck.
Cammeby’s International confirmed it plans to provide alternate access to the back-alleyway loading dock while work on the site is underway, but it has not released details yet. And the developer also came up with a plan to ensure safety at all times on the site, said spokeswoman Christa Segalini.
“Cammeby’s has a couple of options that it’s currently assessing for providing alternate access,” she said. “As required, the developers submitted a site safety plan for the project. That plan was subsequently approved this past summer and outlines the development team’s rigorous plans to ensure that the site is secured and that construction activity adheres to the highest levels of safety and quality. The site safety plan includes required barricades, fencing, lighting, and signage — as well as active supervision of the site to ensure all safety procedures are being followed.”
