By Angela Marshall
Within days of the cleanup, members of the Maple Avenue Task Force posted a picture of the empty lot on their Web site. The unsightly and dangerous dirt pile next to the old Getty station on Maple Avenue finally has been removed, they wrote.
The task force had complained to the village about the unsightliness of the dirt pile and its potential health risks for years.
The pile was made up of contaminated soil found around gasoline tanks removed from the Maple Service Center, 23-29 Maple Ave., in 1998. Approximately 200 cubic yards of soil was excavated and piled at the site, but testing did not begin until June 2001. It has not been completed.
News that the soil was removed came as a surprise to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. A DEC representative said the property owners have in past ignored their requests that the soil be removed and properly disposed of. The DEC is investigating how the waste was disposed.
A man at the service station, who did not identify himself, said the soil was all taken care of legally.
The property is owned by Harry Weinstein and the estate of a former business partner, Lawrence Testier.
Weinstein was also given a summons to appear before the village court because of the dirt piles. He asked for an adjournment at his first hearing and was rescheduled for later this month.
Between January 1999 and January 2000 the DEC sent four letters to Weinstein concerning the spill. When they received no response, the DEC hired an environmental clean-up firm, EnviroTrac, to begin sampling the soil and ground for gasoline.
Before testing could be completed, DEC spokesman Mark Lowery said, the owners stopped allowing EnviroTrac workers on the site. He said the DEC is considering seeking a court order to continue evaluating the property and, if necessary, to perform remediation.
The man at the service center said the DEC representatives are still taking samples from the property.
He said there are other gasoline spills in the community and does not believe the neighbors should be concerned about his. Why don
