The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
DEMO BEGINS
Flats: Excavation crews bring down first of many houses damaged in Flood of 2013
ONEIDA, N.Y. » The first of 30 houses slated for demolition came down early Monday morning on Devereaux Street.
All Around Excavation, which won the bid for the first 30 houses, began bright and early on Nov. 27, tearing down the houses at 512 and 514.
The houses are part of more than 60 properties scheduled for demolition as part of a FEMA buyout related to flooding that devastated the area in 2013.
Demolition of the houses languished for several months while the city waited on a State Historic Preservation Office survey of land in the Flats. No work could be done until a report had been filed with the state ensuring no historic artifacts were buried beneath driveways and sidewalks.
With all the reports and paperwork filed, the demolition crew were let loose and the two houses fell within two hours.
Ward 4 councilor Helen Acker used her 4th Ward Oneida Facebook page to document the demolition, explaining how the demo crew used heavy equipment to bring down the houses. “First they start by pushing in the roof, then the side outside walls, while they do this, it gets mashed down to the basement by the excavator,” she writes. “After that is all done, they pull out the debris from the basement and put it into trucks to bring to the landfill.”
She also noted how FEMA rules bar residents from claiming items from the houses, including windows, doors and cabinets.
Those who want to watch the demos can do so, Acker writes, but must keep their distance as the work site is dangerous.
State employees waited in the wings to see if the
“We’re trying to make sure we stay within the permit limits. We are reaching out to Sen. Chuck Schumer’s office for a waiver so we can exceed that limit and the trucks can haul all day long." — City Engineer Jon Rauscher
properties held anything of historical value.
“All Around Excavation has been great. We’ve been coordinating with their office folks and it’s gone smoothly so far,” City Engineer Jon Rauscher said.
At the moment, demolition in the Flats is budgeted to one house a day due to weight limits.
Rauscher explained that the Madison County Landfill has a permit that limits incoming refuse to a total of 375 tons a day, but the demolition can potentially bring in about 200 tons a day just from one house.
“We’re trying to make sure we stay within the permit limits,” Rauscher said. “We are reaching out to Sen. Chuck Schumer’s office for a waiver so we can exceed that limit and the trucks can haul all day long.”
Acker updates the 4th Ward Facebook page with information pertaining to the demolition often, and also has video of the first teardowns on her personal Facebook page.
Demolition is expected to continue for the rest of the week on Devereaux Street.