By Carol P. Bartold     

Jan. 11, 2017:  Concerned Bronxville and Tuckahoe residents addressed the Bronxville Board of Trustees on Monday, January 9, about contamination at the proposed site of a Marriott SpringHill Suites hotel and restaurant on Marbledale Road in Tuckahoe.

The site plan, approved by the Village of Tuckahoe Planning Board in a 3-to-2 vote in October of 2016, calls for the hotel and restaurant to be built on the site of a former marble quarry has been used as a landfill as well as a location for auto repair and auto parking. Soil and water testing onsite revealed concentrations of barium, copper, arsenic, benzene, lead, and two types of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in concentrations sufficient to warrant evaluation for remedial action. 

Mayor Mary Marvin announced that both she and the trustees have been extremely vigilant in staying abreast of the latest developments surrounding the hotel project while remaining mindful of jurisdictional issues and exhibiting proper behavior toward their colleagues.

"That being said," Marvin stated, "regardless of the development itself, the Bronxville trustees and I have decided it is within our purview to investigate whether an unsafe level of contaminants are coming into our village." She added that she and the trustees will evaluate data and proceed accordingly.

Marvin announced that the village has engaged Ecosystems Strategies, Inc. to work with village officials in educating them about testing and documents presented for evaluation.

Tuckahoe residents John Mariani and Rachel Zolottev thanked the Bronxville Board of Trustees for welcoming them to speak and also for taking an active interest in the ecological concerns. Mariani reported that in speaking at public meetings in Eastchester, "all we've gotten is a shrug, and a 'we'll do what we can.'" He characterized Tuckahoe Mayor Steve Ecklond and the trustees as merely rubber-stamping the project and telling the developer, despite the presentation of solid evidence about contamination, to do as it wishes. 

"We cannot even go to our mayor and trustees in Tuckahoe and ask the kinds of questions we should be asking," Mariani said, because the village attorney has advised the mayor and trustees not to speak about the project pending potential lawsuits. 

Zolottev, from the Marbledale Road Environmental Coalition, her husband owns Ki Martial Arts on Marbledale Road, stated that they closed the facility and began the search for a temporary location as soon as digging began. "There is no amount of money that is worth anyone becoming ill," she said. "Hazardous waste is hazardous waste." She stated that all information the coalition has gathered is available to the public.

Bronxville resident Vicki Ford stated that she has spent many months reviewing documentation and data and urged community members to be wary and thoughtful. "There is no return once a toxin takes hold," she said.

Mayor Marvin noted that she and the Bronxville Board of Trustees will continue to listen and move forward in establishing an understanding of the problem. "Contaminated air and water don't stop at the village borders," she said. "We're going to be doing all we can."

The Bronxville Board of Trustees will meet on Monday, February 13, at 8:00 pm in the trustees room at Bronxville Village Hall.

Pictured here:  The quarry site where the proposed hotel is to go.

Photo by A. Warner