At the Crack of Dawn, Work on Henderson Building, 5:30 am, August 18, 2010
This morning at 5:30 am, Thor Equities work crew continued demo and asbestos abatement work on the doomed Henderson Building across from Nathan’s in good old Coney Island. A few courageous photographers ventured out to document the worksite, despite the fact that one was threatened by a worker who tried to grab his camera on Tuesday. Now it’s safety in numbers! The above photo of the Bowery side of the Henderson Building arrived via email just after 6 am. We asked the photographer: what were they doing to the awnings? The answer was “they were tearing them down.” This appears to be the case if you look at the photo below taken 3-1/2 hours later of the same scene. Unfortunately the DOB has to see the violations happening and photographic evidence seems to count for nothing.
Since photos of Thor’s workers hammering away at the Henderson Building were posted on Monday, Coney Island’s Community Board 13 has questioned the Dept of Buildings (no permits have been issued for demolition) and Dept of Environmental Protection (a permit for asbestos abatement has been issued, though it was not displayed at the worksite). It appears that public scrutiny has led the crew to beef up their asbestos safety procedures. In the first photo, for example, there’s a sheet of material covering the sidewalk, which was not the case on Monday.
One photographer writes: “Took some photos today, Thursday 8/19/10, at 9 am, most taken from the Boardwalk side. They are working on the theater, south side of building. Looks like they are using a staircase to bring stuff up to the roof. All the workers are in air tight suits, see the yellow boots. They are laying out white plastic sheets on the roof and dumping stuff into the white sheets, tying up the sheets and stacking the rolls.” Okay DEP, we would like to know if the City is doing “Ambient air monitoring” to measure airborne asbestos fiber concentrations in the general vicinity of the worksite. Unlike the DOB website, the DEP site provides no information to the public on permits that have been issued. Readers may want to take a look at the DEP’s “New Asbestos Rules & Regulations, effective June 6, 2010.”
Before we go anywhere near Surf and Stillwell, we plan to take a cue from the workers and suit up in protective clothing. The yellow boots could become a new fashion statement in Coney Island–Lola Star take note! In the meantime, ATZ recommends the Asbestos Safety Kit which we found online for only $43.95 and includes the following items:
• Tyvek® disposable suit with integral hood and boots
• Sleeve covers (1 pair) (White).
• Latex gloves (2 pair)
• Goggles, chemical resistant with indirect vents.(1)
• Respirator (1) (half mask)
• HEPA cartridges (2)
• 6 mil poly bags 3’ x 5’ (4) bags/kit with asbestos warning (not shown)
Related posts on ATZ…
July 1, 2010: Thor’s Coney Island: Demolition Under the Radar?
June 14, 2010: Thor’s Coney Island: Caution! Asbestos Removal at Doomed Bank
April 29, 2010: Photo of the Day: Interior of Coney Island’s Doomed Henderson Music Hall
April 21, 2010: Thor’s Coney Island: Tattered Tents, Deathwatch for Historic Buildings
Amusing the Zillion 
You know, just ten short years ago, none of this guerrilla surveillance would have been possible. Isn’t technology a wonderful thing?
There is a new memory card for digital cameras that lets you send the pictures via wifi to a laptop, etc called Eye-Fi, and also there are apps that allow you to automatically upload photos/video to the web as you’re taking them, in case someone threatens you, damages or takes the camera, etc.
Eye-Fi – wireless access memory card for cameras
Apps – Kyte, Qik, etc
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Coney Island doc, Save Coney . Save Coney said: Daily Disgrace: 5am demo work on Coney's historic Henderson building! http://bit.ly/bsVsft #brooklyn […]
Smartphones can take a photo and upload it also.
Bruce
You can even do live video feed with a smartphone to ustream
Bruce
Oh man… that is so difficult to see. I’m glad the public scrutiny is making them beef up procedures, it still does not appear to be enough though.
[…] And workers are now threatening photographers. Good way to win hearts and minds! More deets on ATZ… […]
We’ve been told by someone who inquired into this matter with the DOB & DEP that the DOB’s demo permit will be issued after the asbestos abatement is certified as done. Also, the DEP asbestos permit includes demo-type work related to the asbestos abatement. It’s all kinda nonspecific in an irritatingly bureaucratic way.
It’s hard to have even a shred of optimism that the building can be saved, but the documentation of Thor Equities destruction of historic Coney Island will continue and will forever be a part of Joe Sitt’s legacy. And we’ll be stuck with another empty lot at the corner of Stillwell & Surf for years to come. Inexpressibly sad considering that just last week, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation affirmed “the historic core of Coney Island appears to meet the criteria for listing to the Registers as a historic district.” Read more at http://www.saveconeyisland.net/?p=1321
If your pockets are deep enough, your political clout big enough and you’re realizing the city’s agenda (to gentrify + corporatize what’s left of Coney Island), the rules and regulations won’t apply to you.
More of the usual crap….