Defective sign pushes 180 Roger Ave. hearing to Oct. 17

The debate over 180 Roger Ave., a commercial site in Inwood continues. Representatives from both Russo’s Development Enterprises, who hope to build a soil sorting facility on the lot, and from Roger Realty Co., the company that rents the neighboring building, 150 Roger Ave. to Sony Pictures Entertainment, were expected to make their cases at a Town of Hempstead Board of Appeals hearing on Sept. 12 for and against the variances Russo’s is requesting, but it was postponed for third time since June.

What was called a “defective sign” was the issue. The sign posted at the site had information cut off at the bottom. Al D’Agostino, the attorney representing Roger Realty Co., explained that the new date of Oct. 17 at 2 p.m. was chosen to give them the opportunity to make sure all seven of their experts would be able to attend. “It’s going to be a very, very lengthy hearing,” he said.

The Russo is requesting several variances, including building an 8-foot-tall fence, 2 feet taller than the maximum height allowed by the town of 6 feet, and 18- to 21-foot-tall concrete walls to house the materials.

Permitting a “noxious and offensive use,” is the most important variance to Russo’s, as their project narrative states that without this the facility wouldn’t be able to operate in any capacity. “The facility won’t generate the amount of dust that everyone’s picturing in their mind,” said Sal Russo, co-owner of Russo’s Development Enterprises at an Inwood Civic Association meeting on Sept. 6. “But we will be using dust control measures as overkill.” According to the project narrative, these measures would include dampening the materials and positioning the equipment away from the property lines.

Roger Realty representatives also attended the civic association’s September meeting. Some community members expressed their concerns about trucks taking up space on Roger Avenue, but Russo, assured them that it won’t be a problem. “Trucks will be pulling right in, they won’t be waiting outside,” he said. “We’ve set the property up to optimize the flow of traffic.”

Russo’s has been working to clear soil, concrete, rock and brick that were left by the lot’s previous occupants. According to them, they’ve already removed 40,000 yards of material. “We’ve moved a lot of stuff and haven’t had any issues,” said co-owner Anthony Russo.

Community members have noticed. “What a difference between how it looked then and now,” Inwood resident Rosemary Reo said.

D’Agostino, explained his client’s opposition to the project. Sony uses 150 Roger Avenue to store valuable prints of classic films, and he said that the air quality is vital important the preservation process. While the Russo’s operation won’t include the crushing of rocks and most likely generate less dust, D’Agostino explained his concerns about the exhaust from the barges they plan to use to remove the material. “You are looking at less than half the proposed uses,” he said referring to the residents seeing the old material removed. “We haven’t seen the barges come in yet.”

Pete Sobol summed up the sentiment of his fellow Inwood neighbors. “All we want are good neighbors,” he said.