| 9:10:45 AM - Wed, Nov 16th 2011 |
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??Real Progress?? Coming to Kings Park Psych Center
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Demolition of structures will begin next year on the grounds of the old Kings Park psych center
Kings Park, NY (SmithtownRadio.com) – It’s been years in the making but the demolition of structures on the grounds of the former Kings Park Psychiatric Center property is slated to begin next year.
“Demolition of the buildings targeted in this first cleanup phase will address many safety and security risks,” says New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Rose Harvey, who’s office was given control of the land in 2006. “[The first phase of demolition] will provide us with a better understanding of the challenges ahead in the long-term remediation of the site.”
The first round of demolition and clean-up is projected to begin in May and will include the tearing down of four buildings located in what is now the 153-acre Nissequogue River State Park, which was established along a section of the former hospital grounds in 2000. An additional eleven other buildings will be removed from the remaining 365 acres of land, which – for the most part – sites idle. A large smokestack and other structures adjacent to the abandoned power plant will also be removed.
At a public meeting Friday, residents expressed concerns over safety and traffic concerns related to the project. Project organizers are assuring the community they are taking the utmost precautions. An independent party will monitor the air quality in and around the demolition sites for elevated asbestos and dust levels. Precautions are also in the works to protect local waterways and wildlife from being contaminated with pollution.
“You are not going to see the old fashioned wrecking ball,” Richard Walka, the Senior Vice President of Dvirka and Bartilucci, told Kings Park Patch. “The stuff will be cherry picked out and separated… there is not a steel ball coming into them.”
Dvirka and Bartilucci is the consulting firm on the project.
“The vision for this parkland property can finally begin to take shape for the people of Kings Park,” says New York State Senator John Flanagan, who helped secure the funds for the project in 2006.
In the first round of demolitions, which is expected to take over a year, the state says the following buildings will be broken down:
?Building 35 and Building 36: Administrative Staff Residences
?Building 55: Clubhouse
?Building 57: Maintenance
?Building 59: Power Plant / Medical Records
?Building 60: Shoe Shop
?Building 122: Wards 51 and 52
?Building 123: Dining Hall (Wards 53 and 54)
?Barge
$15 million has been slated for the first round of demolitions but a total $25 million has been appropriated for continuing cleanup on the site, which officials hope will eventually include the demolition of:
?Building 56: Cafeteria / General Store
?Building 82: Morgue
?Buildings 47 and 48: Grounds Department
?Building 6: Power House “Remains”
?Building 5.1 – Salt Shed
?Building 29.1 – Smoke Stack
?Building 29.2 – Tank
?Building 29.3 – Piers
?Building 23: Day Treatment
As the project progresses, access to area roads, soccer fields, the recreation path and roadways may be shutdown temporarily.
http://www.smithtownradio.com/2011/11/15/0000/real-progress-coming-to-kings-park-psych-cen...
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