After weeks of push back from residents, demolition of the Tompkins County Library has been postponed. The building was set to be torn down starting on Monday, December 3rd, but residents are concerned that the demolition process would contaminate the air with asbestos. The demolition has been postponed to Monday, Dec. 17th. They are currently putting up barriers and gates around the building to prepare for the demolition.
Asbestos is a mineral substance that was once used for insulation in many buildings. Since it’s common use in for construction in the 1980s, it has been deemed a cancer causing agent.
It is set to be demolished for a new senior housing project that will take its place.
The old library building, at Cayuga and Court streets, is surrounded by residential homes, public school bus stops, a church and Dewitt Park - making it a very populated area. Residents have voiced unease that the demolition will lead to asbestos being released in the air. Just over 800 community residents have signed a coalition letter requesting Mayor Svante Myrick take action to ensure that the building is not demolished until the asbestos is removed from inside the building.
“It is inconceivable that you could allow this asbestos-contaminated structure to be demolished over the course of literally weeks without requiring comprehensive environmental safeguards to prevent any and all public exposures to deadly asbestos,” the letter reads.
The letter was written by the Ithaca Common Council and members of the Tompkins County Legislature. The letter is being distributed through Toxics Targeting, which discloses information regarding toxic sites on properties.
Walter Hang, founder of Toxics Targeting, says that the community must hold the mayor accountable because the building is right in downtown and the demolition will put many people in danger.
“It can kill people. There’s no other way of looking at it,” said Hang.
The building was bought in 2017 by Travis Hyde Properties for $925,000. The original plan was to pursue a contained abatement but the building had to be condemned due to roof damage. The ceiling was found to have collapsed onto the third floor causing it to be deemed unsafe. The abatement process was then switched to a controlled abatement. In a controlled abatement, demolition and abatement happen simultaneously. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, if a building containing asbestos is “structurally unsound and in danger of imminent collapse, the facility may be demolished without removing the RACM [regulated asbestos-containing material] before demolition.”
Hang claims this is not the case for the old library building. He believes the engineers did not conduct a proper review of the site. Hang says this happens all the time because removal of asbestos is very expensive. A contained abatement would cost about $500,000.
“That is not the case for the library. The building is very strong. ...It’s a concern of false instrument, which is a class E felony. This is a notoriously corrupt business,” said Hang.
Even with the coalition letter, Mayor Myrick does not have the ultimate decision in this matter. In order to stop the controlled abatement and move forward with the original plan, the building would have to be reassessed and deemed structurally sound.