By:Linda Prussen
Corva is now gutting and restoring the former Stone Caterers is now being gutted as a multiplex cinema. The theater, which house four screens, is to comprise not only the former catering house, but also an adjoining lot.
Corva, owner and architect of the Seaford Movie Theater and architect of the Bellmore Playhouse, said, "I want people to know the
same quality of design will carry through all three theaters, in Bellmore, Seaford and Merrick."
The site for the Merrick movie theater is now being cleaned up through a voluntary agreement between the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Peter Stone, the property's previous owner. A part of the site had been a dry
cleaner, and tests were performed to check for any residue of the chemical perchloroethylene (or perc for short), which is used in dry cleaning and has been shown to be potentially harmful to human health. The DEC is overseeing the cleanup, which is being paid for by the previous owner.
Mark Lowery, DEC spokesman, said 20 cubic yards of contaminated soil was dug out and removed from the site. The remaining soil and ground water is being treated to purge leftover traces of perc.
Additional soil samples are now being taken for review. The cleanup, however, will not hold up construction or even opening of the new theater, as tests performed on the interior air levels of perchloroethylene at the site have all come back as safe, according to the DEC.
The state Health Department has determined that the perc level must fall below 100 milligrams per liter for the theater to open. "So far," Lowery says, "the air levels are good, below 100 milligrams, and we expect them to get better."
According to the Health Department, levels kept under 1,000 milligrams per liter are allowable for workers exposed to perc for 40 hours per week.
