Trustee Wants Board To Study Saint Paul's Cleanup

High levels of lead dust found inside the historic Saint Paul's building last September forced village officials to immediately halt any interested parties from touring the former boys school.

The story remains the same today, as officials from the State Historic Preservation Office recently traveled from Albany hoping to get a first-hand look.

Lead dust can form when lead-based paint is scraped, sanded or heated, according to the Nassau County Health Department. Dust can also form when painted surfaces bump or rub together. The lead chips and dust can get on surfaces and objects that people touch and settled dust can re-enter the air when people vacuum, sweep or walk through it.

Trustee Andrew Cavanaugh said a proper environmental cleanup of the building's interior should be a precursor to any future action, whether it's a re-opening, mothballing or even demolition.

"We would have the benefit of having taken the necessary first step to any next event and we would be able to, perhaps, better assess our opportunities with the building if we can go in and show ourselves, and others who may come and be interested, the current state of the building," he said.

"I think we should start considering undertaking a study on how we can make that condition now, prior to or in conjunction with whatever other planning we're doing with Saint Paul's," Trustee Cavanaugh continued. 

Maureen Traxler, a member of the Garden City Historical Society board, said Virginia Bartos and Elizabeth Martin, the national register unit coordinator for Long Island and a historic sites restoration coordinator respectively, did hope to tour the building in order to assess its status.

Martin's letter to village officials requesting a tour stated: "We would like to visit St. Paul's School to get a better understanding of the building's condition and potential. We believe that our office will be involved in the village's SEQRA process addressing St. Paul's and it is important that we are familiar with both the building and its site so that we can provide appropriate comments. We will come prepared with hard hats and footwear appropriate to such a site visit and will not hold the Village responsible should anything untoward transpire."

"It's unfortunate that they did not get in," Traxler said. "They were well aware of the lead contamination. They go into these buildings all the time. They were certainly willing to sign an insurance waiver for the village and wear any kind of protective gear."

Though the two women did not gain access to the building, they did have an opportunity to speak with Village Administrator Robert Schoelle, who extended an invitation to possibly reschedule at another time.

Deputy Mayor Don Brudie said the building has to be in a certain condition in order to show it.

"If we don't put it in that condition, we're never going to be able to show it. So it's a Catch 22. We must do something and take the necessary steps," he said.

Swipe tests performed by the Testing Mechanics Corporation on each of the building's four floors last September revealed lead dust levels well above the accepted federal standard of 40 µg/ft (micrograms per square foot). The first floor's results ranged from 890 to 230 to 1,000 and 930; the second floor's results ranged from 9,500 (hallway) to 300 and 470; the third floor's results ranged from 850 to 1,700; and the fourth floor's results were 840 micrograms per square foot.

Anyone that enters the building is now required to wear a half-mask respirator. All village personnel must be trained in the proper use of the mask as well as how to obtain a proper seal.

Firefighters can continue using their Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) and police officers have been trained in using another type of mask classified as Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) safe.

After discussing the waiver with village counsel and the village's insurance company, Mayor Robert Rothschild said a number of trustees were not comfortable taking on a possible liability.

"At this point in time we have documentation that says it's not safe to be inside the building," he said. "The board felt that decision should stand."

"Part of the board," Trustee John Watras, a strong proponent of preservation, interjected.

"We decided that it was not appropriate that we put that risk on the village residents and possible issues in the future as to something that could come up with people that go into that building when we knew there was an issue in that building. Would it be enough to wear a mask? Would it be enough to just cover your body? Would you have to be decontaminated with the fire department? These are all issues we're not ready to take on," the mayor continued.

"These are not ordinary citizens," Traxler replied.

"I understand who they are but they should also be the ones who understand the risks that are associated with entering that building," Mayor Rothschild said. "We were concerned and we decided that wasn't an appropriate thing for the village and the board to do."

Cedar Place resident Pat DiMattia, president of the Central Property Owners' Association, thought Trustee Cavanaugh's suggestion was an excellent one.

"We haven't closed the book on Saint Paul's," DiMattia said. "We've said that we'd keep an open mind if someone can bring to the table real resolution or a real idea that makes sense for the village and something the village wants. But if we can't get them in the building, as Trustee Brudie said, we're in a Catch 22 situation. So why not undertake that abatement process or at least consider it, review it, discuss it, so that the opportunities, as they come up - as with the case with the officials from the state. I mean it would've been a perfect opportune time for something to get the wheels going on a new idea and a new proposal."

The mayor reiterated that liability issues still exist, even with a waiver.

"We're not taking on that issue because someone wants to walk through the building to see what it looks like," he said. "We can supply them with what we think is sufficient information and avoid a possible liability, whether it be presently or in the future."

Jackson Street resident Jim Gillespie appreciates people's sentimentality about Saint Paul's but questions the historic nature of it.

"Should we abate this environmental issue, is the building structurally stable enough to invite people into it?" he asked. "If we clean the building up for God knows what reason why in the world would we invite people into this building? Relative to the environmental issues, and I'm sure the fire department can relay this, it is not merely putting on a mask or gear. You have to be certified to wear that gear. Are the people coming trained? Did they pass a physical that we know of that they can suit up to Level B or Level A suits to enter the building? Do we have a structural engineer that's going to sign off on saying, 'Come on in folks. Step right inside. Let's see what happens.'"

Gillespie said the village must resolve the issue without throwing good money into bad.

"We don't need people from a historic society from the state of New York, from Washington, from anywhere else, to enter this building. We know what the building is. Engineers, contractors know what the building is. Vacant buildings don't get better over time, they get much worse. I think it would be inviting tragedy if we started bringing people through this building again," Gillespie said.

According to Schoelle, it would cost the village an estimated $68,000 to clean up the building's lobby area, its two parlor areas and the staircase leading into the chapel.

Garden City received environmental grant monies several years ago that could help offset the abatement costs though Schoelle said the village applied for close to $1 million and received "substantially below that."

The village's 2006 cost estimate for asbestos and lead paint remediation in the Main Building and Ellis Hall, as well as the demolition of Ellis Hall, totaled $1,565,000, Schoelle said.

The village received $300,000 in environmental grant monies, leaving Garden City's remaining contribution at $1,265,000.

"That [$300,000] is still there," Schoelle said.

Mayor Rothschild warned though that there are issues as to whether the remaining costs could be reimbursed or included in the demolition bond.

"These are all questions that I think we need to have answers to before we move forward," he said. "I don't want people to think that because we're cleaning up the environmental issue, we're saving the building."