By ARIELLA MONTI
The building, which housed stores from 124 to 136 E. Park Avenue, was ordered demolished shortly after the May 16 fire was extinguished by Long Beach Building Commissioner Scott Kemins.
�We tried to do the best we can to get in there to do an investigation, but in this particular case, the way the building burned and what was left was too dangerous to go in there,� said investigator Joseph Whittaker. Whittaker said the fire�s origin was traced to beneath a large air conditioning unit that could not be removed safely from the unit that housed Edward Jones Investments. �Human life pretty much overrides everything,� Kemins said of his decision to tear down the building. �If someone went in there and died trying to find out the nonsuspicious cause, that would be hard to live with.�At 3:11 a.m. on May 16, the city�s Fire Department received a call from the Police Department about the four-alarm fire, which destroyed eight businesses and took 200 firefighters from 14 departments across the South Shore to extinguish.
Ronald Rettner, owner of Rettner Management Corp., the New Rochelle-based firm that owns the building, said he has already hired a structural engineer and an architect to begin drawing up plans for a new building, which he said will sport a contemporary look.
�Steven�s Pasta and Paulina�s [Hair Salon] are structurally sound,� Rettner said of the two stores just west of the destruction that suffered smoke and water damage. �We�re going to address those first and try to get them back in business as soon as possible.�
Rettner said that he hopes to submit plans to the city by the end of June. �We will do everything we can to streamline the process on our end to expedite it,� said Kemins of the approval process. �It�s good for the city, it�s good for Mr. Rettner. Nobody wants to see an empty lot in the middle of our commercial district.�
Kemins said that the time it will take Rettner to get up and building will depend on a number of factors, including when the architect submits plans and when the firm�s insurance company pays out claims. �I could see them having construction commencing within six months,� he said.
�It�s not in anybody�s interest ... not to move forward as soon as possible,� said Rettner of his plans to have the building up by the end of the year. �The building will be rebuilt a more beautiful building.�
Owners who lost their businesses have already started to move forward. Jenny Montiglio, owner of the Ooh La La, a woman�s boutique, found a new store, at 167A E. Park Ave., at 6 a.m. the day of the fire. �We�re so excited to go back to Long Beach,� said Montiglio, who has stores in Babylon Village, Sayville and Ocean Beach.
According to Michael Fusco, a representative of Chase Bank, customers who had valuables in safe deposit boxes at the branch at 124 E. Park can call to make an appointment to pick up their belongings at the Garden City branch, at 1401 Franklin Ave. For more information, call (516) 432-9195 or (516) 255-5600 ext. 221.
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.
