Board discusses concrete grinding machine off North Ferry Road

An issue that has been dormant for more than a year resurfaced at Tuesday’s Town Board work session, with a new wrinkle added.

The 1.3-acre lot at 13 North Ferry Road, owned by Dan Calabro and leased to Marcello Masonry, has a concrete grinding machine on the premises that worries nearby residents. Councilwoman Chris Lewis said complaints have been made to the board about the possibility of deafening noise, vibration and potentially hazardous dust blowing onto neighboring properties.

Ms. Lewis has asked the Planning Department to look into the matter. She noted that the town code is vague on the subject of uses in a commercial zone, or as Town Attorney Laury Dowd put it, the code “doesn’t distinguish between a shoe shop or a concrete grinding yard.”

Councilman Paul Shepherd noted that residents in a commercial zone should be protected, but limited space on the Island makes it difficult for people to do business if restrictions on noise included nothing louder than “computers clacking away.”

Robert Waife, whose property borders on 13 North Ferry Road, said he would like answers about the grinding machine — which has been leased to Mr. Marcello — whether it’s only to be used once, or will be permanent.

The safety manual for the machine, manufactured by Sandvik Mining and Construction, advises that ear protection must be worn within 33 feet of the machine when it’s running and those nearby should wear dust masks.

Mr. Waife said his property is about 35 feet from the machine and asked the board to imagine the effect if the machine was “running all day.”

He noted that in April, Mr. Marcello told the board he would not use a grinding machine on the property.

On Wednesday morning Mr. Waife said he had a conversation with Mr. Marcello “just below a scream because of the noise” while the grinder was in operation. There was also a “noticeable vibration and the windows of my house were rattling.”

He described Mr. Marcello as being “gracious” and the grinder had been moved to the middle of the property, away from Mr. Waife’s property line. He added that Mr. Marcello told him the grinding would be just an occasional occurrence.

Planning Board member Emory Briener said he would bring the issue to the board.

In December 2014 the town cited Mr. Calabro, with an “order of remedy,” requiring the removal of trucks, equipment and construction materials and debris stored on the site.

The following April, the Building Department advised Mr. Calabro that for Marcello Masonry to maintain the site as a moving, storage and general trucking operation, he would need a special permit from the town and permission from the New York State Department of Transportation to install a curb cut. The curb cut was needed to provide safe egress onto the state road and minimize storm water runoff and road damage, Mr. Tehan said.

The owner said an application for curb cut had been made to the state and the property would be screened. Neighbors complained then, as they do now, of piles of dirt 15 feet high and an open lot of equipment and debris clearly visible from the road and surrounding residences.

Although bushes have been planted, no curb cut or fencing has been installed on the North Ferry Road side of the property. Tuesday, Ms. Dowd said she had heard from the Building Department that the owner had received a permit to construct the curb cut .

Councilman Jim Colligan said he would speak with the owner and Mr. Marcello about the possibility of installing a gate “so there’s no gaping hole” fronting onto the state highway.

The board has also received new complaints that the dirt pile is a source of flying debris when the wind blows.

In other business: Resident Vincent Novak asked the board to put pressure on the Suffolk County Department of Health Services to screen people returning to the Island this spring from Latin America and Florida for the Zika virus, an illness spread through mosquito bites.

The director of the World Health Organization has declared that the virus is “a public health threat to other parts of the world.”

According to Newsday, three cases have been reported of travelers returning to Suffolk County infected with the virus.
Ms. Lewis and Mr. Colligan thanked Mr. Novak for bringing the matter to the board’s attention.