New plan unveiled for charred gas station

By Alberto Gilman
Posted 6/14/22

The fenced, charred and burnt out eye-sore known as 842 Broadway may see new life once again with a new proposal for the former gas station property.

842 Broadway returned for another review by …

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New plan unveiled for charred gas station

Posted

The fenced, charred and burnt out eye-sore known as 842 Broadway may see new life once again with a new proposal for the former gas station property.

842 Broadway returned for another review by Newburgh City Council during their work session last Thursday night. The council wish to see this property remediated as quickly as possible as the site currently sits in the West End, a pivotal gateway into the city.

Eli Vaknin, the applicant, and Greg Sgromo of Dunn & Sgromo Engineers, PLLC appeared before the city council along with Planning and Development Director Alexandra Church to discuss the new proposal.

“The project is essentially a two-story building. The first floor will be a restaurant and retail [space],” said Sgromo. “The upper floor is going to be office space.”

According to Sgromo, each floor of the proposed building will be 6,000 square feet per floor and there is a newly proposed parking lot towards the front and side of the building.

Additionally, there was a proposed patio overlooking the Quassaick Creek, which the site looks to highlight to those who visit.

Sgromo stated to the council that in order to access the site there would be two entrance ways. The first entrance was proposed for the front of the property closer to the creek. The other entrance was proposed along the service road that leads to the Christmas Trees Shops facility along Broadway.

Vaknin shared to the council that each floor is divided into a number of spaces which are encouraged to be occupied by local business owners rather than a large company occupying the entire space for their work.

Councilman Anthony Grice made the two gentlemen aware that ScenicHudson is currently working on the creation of a walking trail along the creek and Vaknin shared that with the trail being created, this could lead to more highlight opportunities.

842 Broadway was formerly known as Dennis’ Service Center, the livelihood of Dennis Derry, a local mechanic from Newburgh. A gas station and car repair service center business operated on the property for many years.

In December of 2018, the service station caught on fire during the night. Firefighters battled the flames for several hours but the building was destroyed. Months later in June of 2019, Derry passed away and the building has remained a charred eye sore for the city.

In September of 2021, a request for proposal [RFP] was sent out by the city for any interested parties to acquire the site. Chestnut Petroleum Distributors, Inc. [CPD] came before the city council and expressed interest in the property. CPD had presented a new proposal to the city council for a new retail facility rather than a new gas station to which CPD owns several.

A CPD representative had stated during one of the council meetings that CPD is in control of 225 sites and owns 65 convenience stores within the Tri-State area. One location is along Route 9W heading towards Marlborough.

In the RFP, CPD would have been responsible for above ground remediation while the State of New York, through the New York Environmental Protection and Spill Compensation Fund, would be responsible for the underground remediation.
During those previous conversations, anticipated work was set to begin this spring in April 2022, however CPD did not move forward on the project and another request for proposal [RFP] was sent out for bid. The reason for CPD’s departure for the project was unclear.

City council members will need to discuss any further agreements/contracts with their representatives and personal and additional planning amongst themselves before a decision is formally made.