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Neighbors of Palisade Avenue demolition worry about asbestos

Standing room only at land use committee in effort to save a Bronx original apartment building

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It was once a crown jewel of the construction industry — easy to mine, great for keeping heat and electricity where they're supposed to be in homes, and quite inexpensive — but today asbestos is the poison no one wants to be around, known for causing a number of health problems, including those that could kill you like lung cancer and mesothelioma. 

Asbestos is banned from new construction these days, but it's far from eradicated. Any building that has gone up before the late 1980s could very well have asbestos, and city regulations in how to handle the material are strict. 

Saving what some claim is one of the original Bronx apartment buildings is what motivated more than 100 people to show up to Thursday's land use committee meeting at Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel of Riverdale — but what had many neighbors the most concerned was whether demolition crews at 2395 Palisade Ave., were properly disposing of the potentially lethal material.

"My concern — and I am a nurse — is the asbestos," one neighbor, Christine Keegan, told Community Board 8 members, about the Villa Rosa Bonheur, the near-century old apartment building that has been slowly demolished over the last several weeks. "If the roof has started coming off, and if there is asbestos in there, then it's blowing all over the place. It should be checked tomorrow, and it should be shut down."

An ownership team, identified in buildings department permits as Timber Equities, bought the property last year for $2.6 million, through a limited liability corporation called simply 2395 Palisade. They almost immediately applied for a demolition permit, according to records,  that would allow them to gut the interior for what they said would create 11 apartments in the space that once held seven.

But plans have apparently changed quite dramatically since then, as Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz told The Riverdale Press last week that the developer has decided to completely raze the old building, and in its place, build up to 55 units on seven stories

No new demolition permits have been posted to the buildings department website, and it's not clear when full demolition of the house — which is now a simply an exterior shell with a partially dismantled roof —  will take place.

CB8 member David Gellman called the abrupt change in plan "deceptive."

"You're suggesting that you've been rather proactive in informing us" about what's happening on the Harlem River-front property, Gellman said, "and I would say, frankly that at best, you have been deceptive and reactive. I don't believe that you've been close to upfront with us."

It's not clear how much, if any, asbestos is actually inside the building, but city laws have detailed guidelines in place to protect people from exposure to asbestos, especially during demolition projects. That includes a study conducted through the city's environmental protection department ahead of receiving any permits through building.

DEP doesn't appear to provide a public database to search if 2395 Palisade has had an asbestos inspection, and a call to DEP for more information was pending return.

Diane Cahill, a consultant representing the ownership team at the land use committee meeting, said the buildings department has permitted all the work that has been done to Villa Rosa Bonheur so far. 

"We are aware of where asbestos is in the building, and it will be removed properly," she said.

Since demolition began, more than a dozen complaints against the property has been recorded, according to the buildings department, and work crews have received violations, including one issued Aug. 23 accusing the developer of performing work that doesn't conform to existing permits, without going into specifics. A hearing was scheduled for Oct. 19, but the violation itself is still listed as "open."

Thursday's raucous meeting was led by Martin Wolpoff, since both chair Charles Moerdler and vice chair Dan Padernacht were not in attendance. The crowd openly booed and applauded, many times yelling out insults like "liar" to Cahill, interrupting both her and committee members multiple times. 

However, there might not be much CB8 can do. The developer has pointed out that existing zoning allows them to build up to 55 units, and they'd be able to complete it "as of right." Still, neighbors weren't ready to give up trying to block the plans.

"As you can really tell, people are so upset," neighbor Este Gardner told Cahill. "We don't feel that we can trust you."

Read more about what might be next for 2395 Palisade Ave., in the Nov. 1 print edition of The Riverdale Press.

Community Board 8, Este Gardner, David Gellman, Diane Cahill, 2395 Palside, Villa Rosa Bonheur, Jeffrey Dinowitz, Michael Hinman,

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