Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Letter To The New York State Department Of Health.


Law Office of John J. Tormey III, Esq.
John J. Tormey III, PLLC
1636 Third Avenue, PMB 188
New York, NY  10128  USA
(212) 410-4142 (phone)
(212) 410-2380 (fax)
 
URGENT
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
 
Dr. James V. McDonald - Commissioner
Johanne Morne, Executive Deputy Commissioner
New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH)
Corning Tower, Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY 12237-0026 USA
 
VIA U.S. MAIL and E-MAIL:
Kathy S. Marks, Esq. - General Counsel
Susan Gallup Cartier, Esq. - Deputy General Counsel
New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), Division Of Legal Affairs
Corning Tower Building, Room 2438, Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY 12237-0026 USA
 
VIA U.S. MAIL and E-MAIL:
Marci Goldstein - Director
Division Of Communications
New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH)
Corning Tower, Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY 12237-0026 USA
 
VIA U.S. MAIL and E-MAIL:
Gary Ginsberg, Ph.D. - Director
Center For Environmental Health
New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH)
Corning Tower, Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY 12237-0026 USA
 
VIA U.S. MAIL and E-MAIL:
Christine Westerman - Director
Division Of Environmental Health Protection
New York State Department of Health
Corning Tower, Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY 12237-0026 USA
 
Re:     
The Deliberate Paving-Over Of A Former Sunoco Gasoline Station And Suspected Toxic Site

Location: 447-477 Piermont Avenue, Piermont, New York, 10968 USA
 
Dear Commissioner McDonald, Executive Deputy Commissioner Morne, Attorney Marks, Attorney Cartier, Director Goldstein, Director Ginsberg, and Director Westerman:
 
What has prompted my letter to you today are the unsavory activities of a New Jersey real estate developer and its individual associates. They seek to place a behemoth overstuffed 14-unit residential building on a small property in the very center of the beautiful and historic Village of Piermont, New York - while at the same time paving-over what is a former Sunoco gasoline station site believed to be toxic:
If the developers are allowed to accomplish their unacceptable objective, there will likely be severe adverse environmental and therefore health consequences for Piermont and its residents.
 
Piermont is directly appurtenant to the Hudson River, as you likely know. The location of the property at issue is 447-477 Piermont Avenue, Piermont, New York, 10968 USA. My understanding is that the reason for the hyphenate address, is the fact that this location is comprised of three or four smaller plots which were deliberately combined for the purpose of the wrongful development activity in question.
 
The developer entity threatening to build over and on top of this potentially toxic site is known as “Piermont Developers Limited Liability Company” alias “Piermont Developers, LLC”, a New Jersey “LLC” whose status has been revoked for seven (7) years or more by the State of New Jersey for failing to file and pay its Annual Reports.
 
The last-known Manager, Member, and Managing Member of “Piermont Developers Limited Liability Company” is one Gerard M. (Jerry) Polidoro, an individual who was slammed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) about a decade ago for failing to remediate a (different) toxic gasoline station site in Bergenfield, New Jersey:
It is therefore beyond comprehension to the citizens of Piermont how lightning could be allowed to strike twice in this regard.
 
According to a Deed which I just reviewed for a portion of the 447-477 Piermont Avenue property, the recent buyers and current owners of that portion of the property identified as “475 Piermont Avenue” appear to be the same “Piermont Developers Limited Liability Company” alias “Piermont Developers, LLC", and Gerard M. (Jerry) Polidoro:
 
I am writing to you to therefore try to stop a potential health and environmental calamity-in-the-making which is unfolding before my eyes and the eyes of the people of the Village of Piermont. At minimum, the residents of the Village of Piermont need immediate NYSDOH attention paid to this health and environmental threat. Both the developers and the soft Village of Piermont government thusfar appear to be steamrollering ahead to pave over this site deliberately. Until most of it was fenced-in today, the site has been used as a parking lot for about 24 to 35 cars at a time, and was used as such from at least as far back as the 1990s – which alone should also raise serious environmental concerns.
 
While I do not believe that politics should play a part in anything like this, you actually should be made aware in this case, to the extent you are not already aware, that the Chair of the Village of Piermont Planning Board is one Daniel Spitzer, brother of disgraced former New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer of “Client 9”, black socks, and hotel folding-girlfriend luggage infamy. Being that most if not all of you are in Albany, this is something worthy of note, particularly:
https://www.recordonline.com/story/news/2007/03/25/dan-spitzer-gov-s-brother/52945306007/
 
I urge you and your NYSDOH colleagues to please attend to this potential nightmare-in-the-making, and use every possible New York State resource to protect the residents of the Village of Piermont, New York. The people of the Village need you, and the people of the Village are counting on you.
 
Thank you for your careful consideration of this letter.
 
Respectfully submitted,

John J. Tormey III, Esq.
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