Some residents in downtown New Rochelle are concerned about the
construction of a nearly 3,000-square-foot
fuel station.
The new municipal fuel station will have two above-ground
storage tanks to service trucks from the city’s DPW.
Richard Smith, a 65-year resident, says the risk of
an explosion has him afraid. Smith also says
residents weren’t informed of the new build.
"We got no
notification at all, no letters about this,” says Smith. “I found out from a
surveyor in the street. He told me about it.”
Business owners in
the neighborhood are also furious about the new fueling station being built in
their backyard.
Steve Farley owns a
tree care company that’s directly across from the construction site.
"We have 40 employees that leave here in trucks every
single day, and today is the
first day of their construction,
and we were blocked for over half an hour leaving our facility,” says Farley.
New Rochelle officials say the area is zoned as light
industrial.
According to a
statement issued by the city, “The nature of our fleet and the operation to
fuel our trucks, the proposed City fueling station will have less of an impact
on the area than a commercial gas station which is currently allowed in that
zone."
Smith says he is
determined to keep fighting to keep the fuel station out of his neighborhood,
despite construction already underway.
"I'm trying to
stop it, that's what I'm trying to do. I think it's totally unfair to the
community,” says Smith.