William Wankmuller, who also lives on Gibson Boulevard, expressed his concerns about the recent vandalism at Monday night’s village board meeting and in a letter delivered to officials on Tuesday. Wankmuller said he was especially concerned about the debris in the vacant stores and the fire hazard that it created.

Mayor Ed Fare responded that he would contact the Nassau County fire marshal’s office to look into the situation.

The two vacant buildings, containing about a dozen stores, were slated to be demolished and replaced by a 39-unit apartment building, a plan that has stalled. Last month, Bleicher, his attorney and village officials met with representatives of the Nassau County office of Economic Development in an effort to secure funding to jump-start the project.