By:Laura Lane
June and William MacDonald moved to Alice Street in Merrick in 1968. Soon afterward, their backyard was flooded. Although they were uncertain what the liquid was, the MacDonalds believed it came from Busy Bee Cleaners, at 1818 Merrick Road, directly behind their home. June MacDonald said the cleaners had hoses that ran from the store to the back fence, which separates the MacDonalds' home from the business.
The store "had those hoses running so the liquid would come into my yard," MacDonald said. "My husband finally stopped them around 1969. I think they were flooding my yard in chemicals.
William MacDonald died in 1977 of melanoma, but his wife never stopping wondering and worrying about whether her property was contaminated by dry-cleaning chemicals.
Busy Bee has been and continues to be occupied with testing for the hazardous waste tetrachloroethylene (PCE) on its property. The cleaning solvent is used to remove stains from clothing, and health authorities suspect that it may cause a variety of cancers with long-term exposure. In the past, the health department discovered PCE in an irrigation well owned by Pete Travaglione, who lived around the corner from the dry-cleaner.
MacDonald was unaware that PCE was found on her neighbor-s property. She says, however, that over the years she has sent numerous complaint letters to Robert Bernstein, who owns Busy Bee, as well as the Town of Hempstead Building Department and the state Department of Environmental Conservation regarding her backyard.
I-d write letters and give Mr. Bernstein a copy, but he avoids me. If I go to the cleaners, they say he is not there, said MacDonald. My neighbors tell me to call if there is a problem. Everyone is afraid to speak or fight.
MacDonald sent a letter to the town-s Building Department on July 7, 2000, complaining that Busy Bee was continually flooding her backyard. She noted large pools of water near her back fence, which she feared would breed mosquitoes in warm weather. In the letter, she cited the evening of July 5, 2000, when she said water was discharged from Busy Bee through a tube. She said the liquid continued to pour out of the tube throughout the night, until about 8:30 a.m. the next day.
I have found water running and running in the past, said MacDonald. I even saw it at night. ... This has been going on at various times in the past five years.
MacDonald wrote to the Building Department that she was unsure whether the water she saw contained chemicals. The town sent over a mosquito control inspector. MacDonald was told there weren't any mosquitoes infected with the West Nile virus on her property.
Susie Trenkle, the town's press secretary, said inspectors didn-t find any water around Busy Bee, and referred the matter to Brian Matthews, a sanitarian at the Nassau County Health Department. MacDonald said she never heard from the Building Department or from Matthews regarding her fears of possible chemical contamination.
She was, however, familiar with Brian Matthews. She had contacted him last year about an abundance of steam escaping from the back of Busy Bee. She did not receive a response from him then, either.
I never knew that the Building Department sent my case to the Health Department, said MacDonald. They should have contacted me and advised me what to do.
When the Herald contacted Matthews, he said he could not discuss the matter. He suggested a call to Cynthia Brown, the Health Department's spokeswoman. Brown said that Matthews had been in meetings and was unable to answer any questions about MacDonald or Busy Bee. The Herald called Brown a number of times and faxed her questions regarding Busy Bee three times over the past month. She said the requested information has proved to be impossible to find because the issue dates back many years. Brown also said that several employees who may have been familiar with the case have been laid off or have retired.
MacDonald said that although she never heard from the Health Department, she continued to write complaint letters, this time to the state DEC, in which she described the pools of water. She said she even sent photographs she had taken to the agency. MacDonald can-t find a copy of the DEC letter, saying that she has grown frustrated over the years and periodically throws the old letters away. She is certain, however, that she sent a letter to the DEC, which never responded.
Bill Fonda, DEC spokesman, said he was unable to find any letters or photos from MacDonald, but he located a complaint from her regarding flooding in her backyard. Fonda said a DEC staff member was sent to check on the matter and concluded that a boiler had overflowed from Busy Bee. An environmental conservation officer was sent from the DEC's hazardous waste division, and concluded that there was no evidence of contamination on the MacDonalds- property.
No soil or water samples, however, were taken. In fact, no samples have ever been taken on the MacDonald or Travaglione properties since the initial discovery of PCE in the neighborhood in 1992. And the DEC has no plans to test on these properties.
My soil and water should definitely be tested, said MacDonald. I want to know if there is any danger involved on my property, and what if I want to sell it someday?
Travaglione said he would contact the DEC to have testing done on his property. He wants to know whether there is any PCE still there.
Joe Bertagni lives next door to MacDonald and owns the strip of stores adjacent to the cleaners. He too has Busy Bee directly behind his home. Bertagni said that for years he tried to do something about the flooding and other problems at Busy Bee. He said he had even checked into hiring a lawyer, but found that the lawyer he wanted already represented Busy Bee.
Bertagni has spoken to Bernstein many times. I-ve lived here for 12 years. Everyone is fed up around here, he said. Bernstein is not interested in the neighbors.
Last summer, Bertagni said, Busy Bee had a fire, which damaged its chimney, causing black smoke to spew into the air for much of the summer. I had to close my windows this past summer," said Bertagni, who has lived on Alice Street for the past 12 years. "The soot made a mess, leaving black smudges everywhere. They finally replaced the chimney this past fall."
I had the soot everywhere, too," said MacDonald. "I couldn-t keep my back windows open, and I love the fresh air.
