"Controlled Demolition With Asbestos in Place" of Former Tompkins County Public Library REPORTEDLY POSTPONED/Take Action to Hold Ithaca Mayor Myrick Accountable for Removing All Asbestos Prior to Demo

Check out our latest news coverage:

Old Tompkins County Library Demolition Postponed - 12-3-2018

See: Email From an Ithaca Resident
Sent: Monday, December 3, 2018 2:02 PM
Subject: Coalition Letter

Many of you may not be aware that I lost my father to asbestos-caused mesothelioma. He was on a job site for only 1 day where contractors were blowing asbestos containing insulation into newly constructed buildings. Twenty years later, he was diagnosed and died within the year. ALL IT TAKES IS A half day of exposure to asbestos to potentially develop cancer/mesothelioma. However, post-exposure, it can take 20 years to develop and by then, all the current players who found a legal loophole to avoid asbestos abatement prior to demolition of the former TC Public Library building will be long gone.

Please consider signing this letter to Mayor Svante Myrick requesting that he stop demolition of the Old Tompkins County Public Library Building until asbestos has been removed.

Please also share the link to this letter with others in your circles, underscoring the urgent need to sign it!

Thank you for considering this, ___

This is exactly what our asbestos fight is all about. There is no safe level of exposure to cancer-causing asbestos. Join 775 signatories to our: Coalition Letter Which Requests That Ithaca Mayor Myrick Require All Asbestos-Containing Materials to be Removed From the Former Tompkins County Public Library Building Prior to its Demolition

Please donate generously to support Toxics Targeting's uniquely effective Legacy Toxic Dump Clean up Campaign. My colleagues and I work night/day to prevent asbestos and chemical contamination hazards across New York. Our work is only possible with your help. Contributions of $1,000.00 or more can be tax-exempt. Please call 800 2 TOXICS (800 286 9427). I apologize for begging, groveling and pleading to sustain our terrific campaign.

Please keep calling Ithaca Mayor Myrick at 607-274-6501. Pour it on. Demand that he require removal of all deadly asbestos from the interior of the abandoned Tompkins County Library before it is allowed to be demolished in order to build luxury housing. Accept no excuses. Promise to hold him strictly accountable.

See: Letter Thanking the NYS Attorney General for Investigating a Potentially Improper Condemnation of the Asbestos-Contaminated Tompkins County Public Library Based on a False Instrument Prohibited by the NYS Penal Code

Greetings Activists,

Each and every day is an eternity in politics. Today, I write to thank you all so much for helping to hold a crucial line in the battle to safeguard New York's public health and our environment from Legacy Toxic Site hazards across our state.

I was about to report last evening that there was no demolition activity yesterday at the abandoned Tompkins County Library, contrary to what the developer reportedly stated on Friday. See below.

Old Library demolition to start Monday, despite continued asbestos concerns - 11-30-2018

SUDDENLY THE STUNNING NEWS BROKE THAT THE "CONTROLLED DEMOLITION WITH ASBESTOS IN PLACE" THAT WE HAVE BEEN BATTLING 24/7 EACH AND EVERY DAY SINCE MID-OCTOBER REPORTEDLY HAS REPORTEDLY BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL AT LEAST 12/17/18!

Can you believe that? All our efforts have been rewarded, at least for now. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You. We live to fight another day. Stay tuned.

Our hard-fought, well-documented, intensely-focused, media-driven efforts demonstrate the enormous power of citizens working together with great dedication and sophistication to require enforcement of public health and environmental protections required by law.

Now we must really pour it on. We must take nothing for granted.

Ithacans are voicing tragic personal asbestos experiences, becoming signatories to our important coalition letter and bringing tsunami-like pressure to bear on City of Ithaca authorities while the Office of the New York State Attorney General is reportedly investigating a violation of the New York State Penal Code related to a possible violation of the New York State Penal Code.

Please support our advocacy efforts. As we have demonstrated over and over during the last nine years, our battle-hardened Campaign really packs a wallop. All for one, one for all.

I do not believe that even one local elected official has signed our: Coalition Letter Which Requests That Ithaca Mayor Myrick Require All Asbestos-Containing Materials to be Removed From the Former Tompkins County Public Library Building Prior to its Demolition

I invite activists to bring pressure to bear on each and every local elected official to request that they support our respectful request.

Finally, I am pleased to report that while the New York State Attorney General lacked authority to halt the "controlled demolition with asbestos in place" because the State Department of Labor approved that proceeding when the City of Ithaca condemned the building on 9/4/18, my false instrument concern has been referred to the Criminal Division for further investigation.

See below and at: Letter Thanking the NYS Attorney General for Investigating a Potentially Improper Condemnation of the Asbestos-Contaminated Tompkins County Public Library Based on a False Instrument Prohibited by the NYS Penal Code

Thank you for all of your help.

Keep slugging.

Cheers,

Walter

December 3, 2018
Honorable Barbara Underwood
New York State Attorney General
The Capitol
Albany, NY 12224-0341

Re: Criminal Division Investigation of Possible False Instrument Involving the Improper Condemnation of the Abestos-Contaminated Tompkins County Public Library

Greetings:

I write to thank you for considering my 11/20/18 request that the Office of the New York State Attorney General halt a "controlled demolition with asbestos in place" of the former Tompkins County Public Library in Ithaca, NY until you investigate whether false written statements or instruments prohibited by the New York State Penal Code referenced below resulted in an improper building condemnation that avoided a $500,000.00 asbestos containment and removal action mandated by state law.

See: Request That the NYS Attorney General Investigate a Potentially Improper Condemnation of the Asbestos-Contaminated Tompkins County Public Library Based on a False Instrument Prohibited by the NYS Penal Code

I am grateful that you instructed multiple staff in your Environmental Protection Bureau to take the time to review my concerns and to speak with me.

It is my understanding based on a conference call last Friday that your office lacks authority to halt the "controlled demolition with asbestos in place" of the former library because the State Department of Labor allowed that abatement to proceed once the building had been condemned by the City of Ithaca.

I am pleased to learn, however, that this matter has been forwarded for possible investigation by your Criminal Division. I write today to provide additional information in that regard.

News Reporting Germane to a Potential Criminal Division Investigation

I write to bring to your attention a news article from last Friday which sheds important new light on this matter and raises additional troubling concerns.

See The Ithaca Voice: Old Library demolition to start Monday, despite continued asbestos concerns - 11-30-2018

The article reports for the first time the train of events that led the City of Ithaca Director of Code Enforcement to grant the developer's request to condemn the former library's condemnation and authorize a "controlled demolition with asbestos in place."

I documented that the structural engineer for the developer of luxury housing at the library site concluded on August 8, 2018 that:

"Overall, the existing metal deck is a hazard in its current condition. It will continue to deteriorate and fail, especially if it remains for another winter season. Personnel and equipment should not be allowed on top of the roof for fear of falling through. Generally speaking, the interior of the building can still be accessed until the first snow in 2018 (emphasis added). After that, the condition of the roof deck should be reassessed when there is no snow on the roof before people are allowed back in the building."

This conclusion presumably would have allowed a May 4, 2018 state-mandated proposed asbestos abatement project to be carried out well before the first snow fall at a cost of approximately $500,000.00.

The Director of Code Enforcement reportedly disclosed in the article that:

“'Since the initial report was not clear about working inside the building I asked a simple question – is it safe to work inside the building? I did not dictate to Ryan Biggs how to respond, I simply asked a question,' Niechwiadowicz said.

On Aug. 20, Ryan Biggs submitted a revised engineering report stating, 'Personnel should also not be working under the roof deck given the obvious deck failures and rusted metal deck debris observed where it had fallen to the first floor. It is my understanding that abatement work would involve removing the ceilings and utilities below the metal deck. Doing this work would potentially put personnel at risk of falling debris from deck failure.'

Niechwiadowicz subsequently condemned the building on the basis that it was unsafe for workers, filing a condemnation order on Sept. 4. According to New York Department of Labor rules regulating asbestos abatements, the building’s condemnation gave Travis Hyde the go-ahead to carry out a controlled abatement.'”

Please note that the Revised August 20, 2018 Structural Conditions Assessment completely eliminated the original finding that:

"Generally speaking, the interior of the building can still be accessed until the first snow in 2018 (emphasis added). After that, the condition of the roof deck should be reassessed when there is no snow on the roof before people are allowed back in the building."

I question why this seemingly straightforward conclusion was not accepted by the City.

I also question why a totally contradictory conclusion without any documentation based on additional site inspection or investigation was used to fulfill a request for permission to condemn the library and permit a "controlled demolition with asbestos in place."

These linchpin issues are the rationale for my concern about a possible false instrument that I ask you to investigate.

See: Letter from Travis Hyde Properties and Ex Libris, LLC to Mr. Michael Niechwiadowicz, Director of Code Enforcement, City of Ithaca, August 23, 2018

Conclusion

I believe more than ever that this matter warrants investigation as a potential violation of the New York State Penal Code, especially because "controlled demolitions with asbestos in place" were reportedly allowed more than 20 times in Ithaca during the tenure of the Director of Code Enforcement, including in just the last few weeks.

I have submitted two Freedom of Information Law requests since the City of Ithaca has repeatedly ignored my earlier requests for information about these matters.

Thank you for your prompt consideration of my request and for your long-standing public service.

Please note that no demolition activity is underway today at the abandoned library.

Very truly yours,

Walter Hang

cc: Honorable Barbara Lifton
Honorable Thomas F. O'Mara
Honorable Members of the Ithaca Common Council
Honorable Members of the Tompkins County Legislature

November 21, 2018
Records Access Officer
City of Ithaca
108 East Green Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

Re: Demolition and Redevelopment of the Former Tompkins County Public Library at 310-314 North Cayuga Street, Ithaca, NY

Greetings:

I write pursuant to the New York Freedom of Information Law (Article 6, Public Officers Law) to request information available from the City of Ithaca regarding the demolition and redevelopment of the above-referenced site, including letters, Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessment Reports, analytical test results, Microbac 2014 Pre-Demolition Asbestos, Lead Paint, and PCB Survey Report, permit applications, permits, contracts, written authorizations, correspondence, emails, Structural Conditions Assessments, documents, phone logs, maps, photographs, videos, notes and all other records involving this matter with Travis Hyde Properties and/or Ex Libris, LLC.

As I am sure you know, Section 89 (3) of the Freedom of Information law requires that you make the information I have requested available or furnish a written denial within five business days. If you do choose to deny access, I would like to know specifically what is being denied and the legal basis, under section 87(2), for such a denial.

If the information can be provided in digital format at a cost of less than $100.00, please fulfill my request without delay.

If the cost of providing the information will exceed $100.00, please contact me before fulfilling my request.

I would like to request a waiver of all copying fees since the information will be used solely to educate the public

Thank you for your attention. I await your earliest reply.

Yours truly,

Walter Hang

November 24, 2018
Records Access Officer
City of Ithaca
108 East Green Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

Re: City of Ithaca Property Maintenance Code Enforcement Info For All Buildings That Were Condemned and Razed By Controlled Demolitions With Asbestos in Place

Greetings:

I write pursuant to the New York Freedom of Information Law (Article 6, Public Officers Law) to request all records available from the City of Ithaca regarding buildings that were condemned and razed through controlled demolitions with asbestos in place during the last 30 years within City limits.

I also would like to receive all City of Ithaca property maintenance code enforcement information for those buildings, including but not limited to property code inspection reports, code violation notices, correspondence, emails, phone logs, structural conditions assessments, asbestos, lead paint and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) pre-demolition surveys, studies, annual programs reports, legal notices, complaints, stipulations, fines, settlements, criminal prosecutions, law enforcement actions and any other information related to my above-referenced request.

As I am sure you know, Section 89 (3) of the Freedom of Information law requires that you make the information I have requested available or furnish a written denial within five business days. If you do choose to deny access, I would like to know specifically what is being denied and the legal basis, under section 87(2), for such a denial.

If the information can be provided in digital format at a cost of less than $100.00, please fulfill my request without delay.

If the cost of providing the information will exceed $100.00, please contact me before fulfilling my request.

I would like to request a waiver of all copying fees since the information will be used solely to educate the public

Thank you for your attention. I await your earliest reply.

Yours truly,

Walter Hang