By:Chris Munzing
The Penta Restoration Corporation of Long Island City has begun repairing the roof. Penta is charging the city $208,788. "They've already been given the go-ahead to start working," said City Manager Glen Spiritis. He added that it is in Penta's contract that the work be completed within 30 days.
The November collapse came only days after the facility had undergone an extensive rehabilitation by the LiRo Group. LiRo was brought in after the collapse to assess the damage, and recommended the replacement of the entire ceiling. City experts said reconstruction on that scale would force the facility to be closed for up to 18 months.
LiRo officials, along with public-works employees, told the Herald last year that it was necessary to replace both the ceiling and the roof. Those repairs could have cost the city upward of $2 million.
The city got a second opinion from Severud Associates, the engineering firm that designed the roofs of Madison Square Garden and LaGuardia Airport. Severud found only 10 percent of the ceiling to be damaged, and said much less construction was necessary.
Spiritis said that while the pool is usually closed during the month of August, the city now plans on keeping it open year-round.
In November, a chunk of concrete fell, most likely because the steel beams that reinforce concrete slabs that in turn support the roof rusted and expanded from water damage. The concrete around the beams cracked, and eventually fell apart. The process is called spawling.
"I have to give Glen the credit," City Council President Jim Hennessy said. "He didn't take no for an answer, and he went to the best." Hennessy said he was proud that this work would fulfill a promise made by the coalition-led City Council to the swimmers of Long Beach, especially the Tigersharks swim team. "I'm just glad that the kids will have a place to swim," he said.
Councilman Denis Kelly said that he was thrilled that the problem was addressed so quickly, and praised Spiritis, though he stressed that this was a stop-gap.
The city will need to invest in a new facility at some point, he said. "Anybody who uses that Rec knows that it's time," Kelly said.
