A coalition of local residents, civic leaders, commercial and retail business owners, and elected officials declared victory at a press conference held Nov. 5, in preventing developer Allen Silverman from imploding the Roosevelt Raceway grandstand. The conference, called by Gary Lewi, a representative of Fortunoff's Chief Operating Officer Norman Goldberg, gave interested parties an opportunity to voice environmental, health and quality of life concerns regarding the proposed implosion, which would have occurred the day after Thanksgiving.

A primary focus of the conference for civic leaders and residents was the possibility that asbestos, atomized lead paint chips, and rodent droppings containing potentially harmful viruses might have been released into the environment if the structure was imploded.

Nassau County Legislator Norma Gonsalves of the 13th District, who attended the conference, told The Westbury Times that although the developer was rumored to have effected an asbestos abatement program, information about how it was done, where the hazardous materials were to be disposed of, and what precautions were to be taken throughout the process were not forthcoming. "At the time, we were still trying to get answers to those questions," Gonsalves said.

Vickie DeJong, chairperson of the Citizens Committee For Civic Action, a county organization, said that before the conference was called, she first went to the Town of Hempstead with questions about the asbestos removal. When the town had no information to offer her, she filed a Freedom of Information request with the Department of Labor to find out who would be performing the asbestos removal, who would be trucking it, and where it would finally be buried. She has yet to receive this information, but said she was told to expect it within a week.

Gary Romonoff, a member of the Wenwood Oaks Civic Association in East Meadow and the former president of the Roosevelt Raceway Vendors Association, foresaw other dangers besides the asbestos threat. He explained that his observations in the 20 years he worked in the Roosevelt Raceway grandstand as a vendor gave him cause for concern. "There was cracked glass windows on the upper level of the building. Pigeons often flew into the building and died there because they couldn't find their way out. Then we had a rat problem because they were feeding on the dead pigeons. With all the rat feces inside the building, we felt that imploding the grandstand could be a health hazard."

As the news conference got under way, Jeff Stadler, consulting attorney for the Town of Hempstead, stated that the developer had backed off from using explosives at the track. Stadler later revealed that a permit was issued by the town last week which would allow the developer to demolish the grandstand using mechanical means. "We are still concerned," Gonsalves said, regarding the mechanical demolition. "There is still a good deal of debris outside of the complex, and we don't know what is in that debris. There is no two ways about it. There are a lot of facets to this issue that must be followed up, must be explored."