Allu Finland-based attachments manufacturer Allu premiered its new range of crusher buckets for the demolition and recycling and industries.

The Allu Crusher line comprises three models for 10 to 33 t excavators, one of which was on display at ConExpo in Las Vegas, USA.

The heavy duty attachment opens like a clam for easy maintenance and features reversible crushing to reduce jamming and blockages and a pin adjustment that allows operators to change the size of the output material.

The company, which also produces the Transformer line of screener crushers and the Processor range of mixers said the range was designed or hard rock and troublesome demolition materials.

Aquajet The Sweden-based hydrodemolition machine manufacturer introduced the Ecosilence 3.0 (pictured below) to reduce noise and allow for a more compact job site, while enhancing environmental stewardship and lowering overall operating costs.

The product features integrated auto start/stop technology that improves fuel consumption, which saves as much as 25 litres of fuel a day for a smaller carbon footprint. According to Aquajet, the re-engineered Ecosilence is more compact, as well, with the entire self-contained system now fitting in a standard, 6.1 m (20 ft) shipping container.

It also produces less noise while in operation, making it suitable for use in urban areas with limited space and strict noise restrictions.

Avant (UK) Avant (UK), the English subsidiary of Finnish compact loader manufacturer Avant Tecno, added the most powerful machine to its 8 series range the Avant 860i Stage V (above). The largest of the Avant loaders, although still compact, it benefits from a greater lifting capacity of 1,900 kg (4,188 lb), a greater reach of 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in), and a turbocharged Kohler KDI 1903 TCR 42 kW (57 hp) diesel engine.

The machine also complies with the latest emissions regulations and boasts many additional features to previous models, including an improved GT cabin with better visibility and usability.

Bobcat Compact equipment specialist Bobcat showed its E10e mini excavator for the first time at this years Executive Hire Show in the United Kingdom. The machine (pictured above) is suitable for indoor demolition and basement projects as well as other low noise sites such as city centres.

Developed at the Bobcat EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Innovation Centre in the Czech Republic, the E10e is based on the diesel powered E10, which has sold more than 10,000 in the past 10 years.

Brokk The Sweden-based leading remote-controlled demolition robot manufacturer Brokk unveiled its new Atomised Water Mist for dust suppression applications.

The company says the new system produces atomised fog that effectively binds airborne dust particles while providing suppression at ground level.

In addition, the mist dissipates, rather than forming puddles, which Brokk said makes for a safer, cleaner job site.

Available for all Brokk remote-controlled demolition robots, the dust suppression offers a solution for combatting harmful silica dust in demolition applications.

EpirocGermany-based attachment specialist Epiroc added the CB 4500 to its popular CB Concrete Buster range.

The new model is designed for carriers in the 40 to 55 t weight class.

Epiroc says that due to their comparatively light weight CB Concrete Busters are effective choices for use with high reach or long front carriers for applications with highly abrasive material and low level of visibility of the product in operation. They are also suitable where noise is an issue and they can be used in residential areas where hydraulic breakers are not permitted.

EvoQuip Leading compact crushing and screening equipment manufacturer EvoQuip introduced the Bison 160 hybrid hook-lift jaw crusher.

Described by the Terex brand as ideal for construction and demolition recycling applications and urban areas, this is the fourth model in the Bison series and the first to use hybrid diesel-electric drive technology to reduce running costs in addition to cutting noise and fuel emissions.

The dual-powered Bison 160 is equipped with a proven 700 x 500 mm (28 x 20 in) single toggle hydraulically adjustable jaw crusher.

Hitachi Hitachi introduced a range of new high-performance hydraulic breakers that match its range of excavators in the range from ZX10 up to ZX890.

The company describes the breakers as ensuring maximum productivity, high performance and low total cost of ownership while the slim design of the breaker is said to ensure easy accessibility in demolition applications.

The mono-block cylinder with a replaceable cylinder liner has been developed to reduce the number of parts in the attachment.

LaBounty USA-based industrial tools and attachment business Stanley Infrastructures LaBounty brand has added a new attachment to its demolition portfolio.

The Multi-Jaw Demolition Tool (MRX) is suited to both primary and secondary demolition applications as well as off site concrete processing.

Designed for efficient downsizing and equipped with 360 rotation, the MRX is described as having a short centre of gravity for optimal control and manoeuvrability.

It features an interchangeable jaw with options for a concrete pulveriser, concrete cracker or shear.

LaBounty has also introduced the Mobile Rotation Pulveriser (MRP) to its line up. Similar in design to the the MRX, it has a dedicated concrete pulveriser jaw.

McCloskey International Crushing and screening specialist McCloskey International has expanded its mobile solutions with a new product range shredders. The VTS95 is the first product to makes its debut for the companys new Recycling Division.

Designed for maximum performance and high productivity, McCloskey says the VTS95 tracked primary shredder is capable of effectively shredding virtually any type of material including solid, industrial, commercial waste and bulk waste.

It is designed to meet the requirements for plants in which the incoming materials vary greatly in terms of size, composition, and difficulty to shred.

Sandvik Sandvik launched Peak Screening, a solution to help ensure every square metre of a customers screening to be as productive as possible.

The company said its screening equipment, media and services are designed to work optimally with each other.

It added that customers will also benefit from having ongoing access to experienced specialists in configuration, optimisation and troubleshooting.

As a result, it has now introduced three ranges of screens, with solutions including the WX6500 tensioned rubber screening media with up to 15 times longer wear life than standard wire mesh, but with the same screening accuracy for superior productivity and uptime.

Trevi Benne Italian company Trevi Benne has launched the FR 120 rotating pulveriser.

The new product has an opening of 1,655 mm (65 in), a weight of 13 t and a force on blades of 820 t.

It is part of the FR Series which the company says has higher performance and resistance to stress, stronger rotation, superior breakage efficiency and a longer lifetime.

See the original post:
Demolition and recycling equipment | Article | KHL - KHL Group

By Travis Vassallo

Dear Santa Barbara,

I have spent most of this weekend attempting to convey the entirety of my thoughts and feelings regarding the proposed development that is threatening to destroy a beloved local mainstay, The Press Room; a place that I and countless community members hold close to our hearts. Ive read through dozens of emails and letters from other concerned residents about this development expressing anger, sadness, disillusionment, and frustration; it has been difficult to distill all of this down into a few short paragraphs, so Ive chosen to speak from the heart and out of love. Love for the city I was born in, for the community I grew up with, and for the people and businesses that make Santa Barbara the incredibly special place that we all call home.

Communities are more than simply spaces humans reside in.Theyre not the roads, the views, the weather; they are at the very core comprised of the people and businesses that make up the community and our home. The Press Room is the very essence of this ethos. Anchored by its love of the worlds game, soccer, The Press Room is an institution, far beyond the humble roots of a British inspired cocktail pub; a behemoth in a small package, much like Santa Barbara itself.

Owners James and Carol Rafferty opened their doors to the hearts (and bellies) of Santa Barbara over 25 years ago. From day one, The Press Room has been a diverse and vibrant safe space for people of all walks of life, of all races and persuasions, to congregate and enjoy not only each others company but the company of the entire Rafferty family and its staff. The Raffertys and their patrons have helped to contribute thousands of dollars every year to local charities and non-profits. They provide a space for local artists to display work. They and the Press Room are Santa Barbara in microcosm. And much like the city it calls home, The Press Room faces economic forces and outside business interests that threaten to upend our peaceful coastal home. Santa Barbara has long distinguished itself from other communities by strategically and deliberately moderating its growth and protecting the character of The American Riviera.

Santa Barbara stands at a precipice, looking forward from a ledge to what our city, our community, will become. Weve seen countless local businesses fail due to high rents, families forced to relocate because they simply could not afford their mortgage, and the very soul of what Santa Barbara is slowly disintegrate into something that is looking to be nothing more than an extension of greater Los Angeles.

To be clear, I recognize a property owners rights to be able to develop their land as they see fit, but it is beholden to city council to protect any and all important cultural, economic, and societal buildings or businesses that may not fit in ones desire for profit. I realize the need for more housing in Santa Barbara, but affordable housing. This project appears to be nothing more than a land grab intended to displace local businesses to make way for exorbitantly high rent housing and in return, high profits for its owners. SIMA Corp, and by default its principal, Jim Knell, said he, controls 500,000 square feet of retail and office space downtown from which no fewer than 300 merchants and business professionals rent. I would like to ask the community of Santa Barbara how they think downtown looks these days. How many vacant businesses do you see on a day to day basis? Do we want to tear down and destroy the essence of what makes Santa Barbara to simply to erect high cost housing?

The Santa Barbara City Planning Commission is now presented with a real opportunity. An opportunity to potentially afford both the owners right to develop, the need for additional housing, and to protect a local and international landmark.

By insisting any development take into consideration the existing Press Room and business and insisting its survival in either the new development or by paid relocation included in any permitted development, city council will help not just one local family continue their American dream but rather ensure an entire community continue to be the vibrant and diverse ecosystem we all hope it to be.As responsible stewards of our community, The Santa Barbara City Planning Commission must do what is right for our community by protecting our iconic businesses, especially now.

With everything that is happening and wrong in the world, The Press Room remains as a small beacon of light and losing it will leave a dark hole in our hearts during a time when many of us hardly have any heart left to lose.

I encourage everyone to participate in the Planning Commissions virtual meeting regarding this projecton Thursday, September 3rd at 1:00pm. Details can be found on the City of Santa Barbaras website or herehttps://www.santabarbaraca.gov/SBdocuments/Advisory_Groups/Planning_Commission/Current/00_Public_Notices/2020-09-03_September_3_2020_710_State_Street_Notice.pdf

If you are unable to attend, you may write an email to[emailprotected]to have your comments entered into the public record. Please also consider adding your name to the list of more than 13,000 other signatorieson a petition to save The Press Room here:https://www.change.org/p/support-saving-the-press-room-from-being-demolished-by-developers-santa-barbara

Lastly, Id like to say that not all of these words are my own. I have included the thoughts and sediments of many others to whom I, the Rafferty family, and The Press Room are forever grateful.

Do you have an opinion on something local? Share it with us at[emailprotected]The views and opinions expressed in Op-Ed articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of edhat.

Excerpt from:
Save the Press Room from Demolition - Santa Barbara Edhat

WARE Town Meeting on Monday will decide whether to appropriate $418,500 to demolish a privately owned building downtown at 112-114 Main St.

The Board of Selectmen last month ordered the owner to tear it down by Oct. 1, and also scheduled a special Town Meeting for Aug. 17 to appropriate funds should the owner refuse to do so.

Town officials say the building has become a public safety hazard and it could collapse onto the roadway, potentially causing injury or death. Built in 1890, it was condemned nine years ago when a section of roof collapsed.

Town Manager Stuart Beckley on Friday said the engineering firm Tighe & Bond was paid $1,700 to estimate the cost to demolish the three-story brick building.

The Town Meeting packet published Friday includes a letter, addressed to the buildings co-owner, Daniel Barenboym, from a different engineering firm, Consulting Structural Engineer Inc., that says the cost to rehabilitate the building would far exceed the cost to demolish.

Barenboym has objected to the demolition order. He told the Selectboard last month he plans to fix the building and could take legal action against the town to prevent its demolition.

Included in the $418,500 demolition cost is $150,000 for removal of hazardous materials possibly including but not limited to asbestos. Preparation prior to demolition will cost $12,000, the Tighe & Bond estimate says.

The Ware Finance Committee was scheduled to meet earlier this week to possibly make a recommendation on the funding request, but lack of a quorum caused their meetings cancellation.

Mondays special Town Meeting will convene outside at the high school football field, 237 West St., starting at 6:30 p.m.

See the article here:
Estimate is $418.5K to demolish condemned Ware building; Town Meeting will debate expense Monday - masslive.com

Earle Kimel|Sarasota Herald-Tribune

VENICE The owners of a home built by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers in 1927 received the blessing of the Venice Architectural Review Board Thursday to demolish it and replace it with a newer structure.

Homeowner Jack Sullivan, who was present in City Council chambers as the city conducted its first hybrid in-person/online meeting, told the board that when he and his wife, Genice, bought the structure at 233 Pensacola Road from the Federal National Mortgage Association in January 2014, the intention was to restore it.

It would cost in excess of $300,000 to renovate this house, said Sullivan, who has already sunk money into a variety of improvements.

Major flaws now includea leaky roof that needs to be replaced and soft floors, indicating dry rot.

Its a bottomless pit, he later added. We bought it from the resolution trust because nobody wanted it.

Instead of speaking during the presentation by his contractor, Gregg Hassler, and attorney, Jackson Boone, Sullivan spoke during public comment, after several speakers urged the board to deny the request.

Curt and Tommye Whittaker, who own a home at 613 Venice Ave.that was built by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers in 1926, both said the home should be kept.

Curt Whittaker said that, at the least, Hassler should have provided estimates of the cost to rehabilitate the home instead of simply saying the house was beyond reasonable repair and that it was time to go.

Hasslernoted that he had participated in the restoration of other structures built when the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers commissioned John Nolen to design the city of Venice notably Lunas Restaurant on Nokomis AvenueNorthand the dental office of his son, Gregg Hassler Jr., on Milan Avenue.

In contrast, there were too many structural problems in the house at 233 Pensacola Road, he said.

Boone, who attended the hybrid meeting via Zoom, while his father, Jeff Boone, and Hassler were in council chambers, noted that there were other considerations, such as the fact that the structure's position on the property placed it roughly three feet from the alley.

While the home is one of the original ones built by the Brotherhood and it is listed as a contributing resource to the 2010 inclusion of the John Nolen Plan for Venice being listed as part of the National Register of Historic Places, it is not historic on its own merit.

Ultimately, the review board voted4-2 to approve of the structure's demolition.

It continued until Aug. 27 a public hearing on the Sullivans proposal to replace it with a two-story home similar to those built on the opposite side of Pensacola Road, in the Courtyards of Venice.

Hassler was the developer of that project.

Among other things, the applicant must produce revised elevations and a revised site plan, delineating how pool equipment will be screened from public view.

Overall, the hybrid meeting went smoothly, save for occasional dropouts from the microphones in council chambers.

The Venice Planning Commission will convene as part of a hybrid meeting on Aug. 18, and the Architectural Review Board will meet Aug 20 as part of a hybrid workshop, before the Venice City Council hostsa hybrid session Aug. 25.

Read the rest here:
Venice Architectural Advisory Board approves demolition of home built as city was founded - Sarasota Herald-Tribune

A request to demolish the Liberty theater building, a fixture in downtown Libertyville since 1937, has been denied by the village, but the owners plan to argue economic hardship as another way to get their wish.

Rhyan Holdings LLC, a family business that has owned the building at 708 N. Milwaukee Ave. for more than 50 years, contends the theater is not financially viable and the property would be more marketable with the building gone.

Rhyan has maintained that stance since it applied for permission to demolish the building a year ago. But no proposal for a replacement structure was offered, and having only an open lot to consider in a designated historic district was among the reasons the village rejected the demolition request.

As expected, the village board on Tuesday night upheld the recommendation to deny the request from the advisory historic preservation committee.

"I would like to see it preserved," said Trustee Rich Moras. "I also realize there would need to be a good economic reason to do so. The challenge I see with what's proposed here is we're only looking at half the equation."

After two public hearings last fall, the committee found that while the building isn't an architectural gem, it has enough historical and cultural significance that demolition would be detrimental to the public interest.

Building owners in a historic district need to secure a certificate of appropriateness to change or demolish a structure.

The village board decision to follow the recommendation sets the stage for the next act for the old movie house. Despite Tuesday's decision, the board agreed demolition can be considered later in the context of an application for a certificate of economic hardship.

"A certificate of economic hardship is justified," Rhyan's attorney David Meeks told the board. The green space would be a "temporary hold" while a buyer for the site is sought, he said.

"The property is in such condition my client feels it prudent from an economic and structural standpoint to take the building down while he works through the process of finding somebody to bring something that will be very enjoyable to the community," Meeks said.

The certificate of economic hardship would be reviewed by the historic preservation commission, which would issue another recommendation to the village board. Justification would include information such as real estate taxes, mortgage balance, appraisals, operating and maintenance expenses, and anything else needed to show whether the property can yield a reasonable return for current or future owners.

An alternate use for the property does not have to be presented, according to John Spoden, Libertyville's community development director. However, he noted, one of the reasons the commission recommended denying the demolition request was it didn't know what would replace the theater.

The theater had operated in recent years as the Liberty 1 & 2 Theaters but closed in late January. The building and 1.17-acre property is listed for $1.95 million.

Mayor Terry Weppler said a viable buyer was in hand but "backed away" at the last minute when the coronavirus pandemic struck.

Excerpt from:
Historic Libertyvlle theater to remain standing, but demolition push continues - Chicago Daily Herald

JAY The town has entered into the demolition process of the sewer conversion project.

Sewage started being sent July 29 from North Jay residences and business to the Livermore Falls Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Selectmen voted 4-1 on Monday to approve a change order for $65,515 for partial demolition of the North Jay Wastewater Treatment Facility, full demolition of another building and other aspects of the project.

The town had a new pump station and force-main system installed to connect the North Jay sewer system to the gravity sewer collection system near Jay Plaza in Jay Village. All of Jays sewage that typically would be treated now is being done in Livermore Falls.

Jay voters approved the project in September 2018 with the end result of abandoning the North Jay plant because it is expected to be more cost efficient than continuing to upgrade the facility. The project is still under budget, according to Sewer Superintendent Mark Holt.

Of the $65,515 change order, $55,130 is for partial demolition of the package treatment unit, which includes removing the panel where the door is located and a wall panel to the right of it so that a garage door can be installed in a subsequent step. The walls are 16 inches thick and full of rebar, Holt told selectmen.

Five or six interior walls will also be cut out.

There is a good possibility that the remainder of the unit could become a compost facility for sludge from the Livermore Falls plant, Holt said. The University of Maine in Orono has shown interest in such a project. Holt has asked a representative if a feasibility study, cost estimated and preliminary design could be done, he said.

Other parts of the change order include removal for an 8-foot by 8-foot chlorination building, ductwork modification in the chemical room, and add vents to two manholes.

Selectperson Judy Diaz opposed the change order while Selectpersons Gary McGrane, Tom Goding, Vice Chairman Tim DeMillo and Chairman Terry Bergeron supported it.

Invalid username/password.

Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

Previous

Next

Excerpt from:
Jay enters demolition process of the North Jay sewage treatment plant - The Bethel Citizen

MARYSVILLE Heritage conservationists on Wolfe Island are stepping up their calls for a delay in the planned demolition of one of Marysvilles oldest houses.

The house at 1208 Main St. is to be torn down by the end of September to make way for construction of a new ferry terminal.

But members of the islands historical society and their supporters, more than two dozen of whom gathered outside the house Friday morning, want the house preserved.

Wolfe Island Historical Society president Kimberly Thomas said the plans for the new ferry dock, including artist renderings, showed the house would remain in place.

A lot of people in the community thought the house would still be standing because of the photos, she said.

We want to stop the demolition and have a conversation. I dont know what the next step is. If the next step is that the house has to come down for the dock to proceed, I dont know how many of these people who showed up here today would look at it differently.

The group plans a rally at the house on Sunday at 10:30 a.m.

Thomas said she hopes the demolition can be delayed until the community has a chance to express to the Ministry of Transportation that there is interest in saving it.

The MTO is not in the business of keeping houses. They just dont have the staff or funds to finance it. I just dont think it was brought to their attention that there is community will to keep it, she said.

From what Ive been told by the professional architects and the engineers and the people who are appraisers, and these are people who are in the business, all the plans show is that they need some of the land but not the land the house sits on.

The ministry said a heritage impact assessment of the house was done about a year ago, and while it was deemed to have cultural heritage value of local significance or interest, it did not meet the requirements for designation as a provincial heritage property of provincial significance.

The architect we spoke to says it does because its significant to this community, its a very unusual house for this community, Thomas said.

The house is an American Foursquare design, which was popular between the late 1890s and the late 1930s. It was considered a reaction to ornate Victorian designs and, as such, was relatively plain in appearance.

Thomas said the house was built around the turn of the last century, and its design incorporates handcrafted woodwork inside that is considered to have improved on the original boxy design and features wood from Douglas Fir trees inside.

I think the house could stay, Hank Connell, one of the founding members of the historical society, said.It is significant.

See original here:
Wolfe Island residents rally to protect house from demolition - The Kingston Whig-Standard

Minneapolis officials will no longer require property owners to prepay the second half of their property taxes in order to start removing rubble from sites damaged in the May riots.

Mayor Jacob Frey announced the change Thursday after the Star Tribune reported on the controversy.

Minneapolis property owners have complained that the policy was slowing the recovery and turning piles of debris into safety hazards. The situation is different in St. Paul, which has been issuing demolition permits without requiring the prepayment of the second half of 2020 property taxes, which are due in October.

Frey said the city will begin issuing permits and waiving demolition fees for any properties damaged in the riots irrespective of whether taxes have been paid. The new policy went into effect Thursday.

I recently learned about the predicament and took quick action to fix it, Frey said in an interview. For the sake of our businesses, we need to be removing every last possible barrier to recovery and reopening.

Minneapolis property owners applauded the move, but they also complained about a continued lack of support from city and county officials. They hope that officials will expedite approvals going forward and help them by lowering the assessments on their heavily damaged properties.

It is refreshing to see them doing the right thing, said Steve Krause, owner of Minnehaha Lake Wine & Spirits, which was destroyed in the rioting. But the taxes are outrageous. They are based on improved real estate, and obviously the real estate is no longer improved. It is devastated.

Krause had to pay $17,116 in taxes on his property to get a demolition permit because his building is still valued at $363,400, according to county property records.

This will remove one small roadblock, but I am not sure how much it will actually speed up the entire rebuilding process, said Don Blyly, owner of Uncle Hugos and Uncle Edgars bookstores in Minneapolis, which were destroyed in the riots. You are still going to have the problem of a whole lot of demolition permits being handled by people who are working at home because of COVID-19.

Blyly, who hired a contractor to remove the rubble from his lot a month ago, still doesnt have his demolition permit, even though he paid his taxes last week.

Minneapolis City Council Member Andrew Johnson said he will introduce legislation at Fridays council meeting that would require city officials to expedite the approval process for riot-damaged properties and waive all administrative fees.

We should be processing their applications first, in front of everyone elses, and they shouldnt be subject to any unnecessary steps that are slowing stuff down, Johnson said. We need to bend over backward and do everything possible to help them with rebuilding.

In a statement, Frey said he consulted with Johnson before deciding to waive the collection of property taxes as part of the debris removal process. Johnson has been lobbying city and county officials on the issue since June.

Though Hennepin County officials said they told city officials to leave them out of the permitting process weeks ago, the county was still pressuring property owners to pay their property taxes as recently as last month.

In a July 28 e-mail to property owner Marc Snover, the countys property tax department warned him that the full years taxes need to be paid in order for us to sign off on a wrecking permit. Snover subsequently paid more than $42,000 in taxes so he could clear his lot of debris left from the destruction of a Family Dollar store and an OReilly Auto Parts shop.

They were sending me demand letters saying I had to get the debris off my lot, Snover said. I didnt want to get in trouble. But my building is worth zero right now, so it feels like they are kind of taking advantage of the situation.

Snover said the county should refund his property tax payment.

Carolyn Marinan, a spokeswoman for Hennepin County, said property owners who paid the taxes to get a permit can apply for a refund. We would make a decision on a case-by-case basis, she said.

Finger-pointing is not helpful, Marinan said in an e-mail. Everyone wants to make this right.

Though Minneapolis officials will no longer force property owners to pay their taxes for a demolition permit, a spokeswoman for the city said that individuals who clear their lots without first paying their taxes will be guilty of a gross misdemeanor.

However, city and county officials told the Star Tribune that they would not enforce that law and will not be citing any property owners or contractors who go ahead with demolition work without first paying the taxes.

Due to the unrest and the mass destruction, properties that have been determined to be an unsafe and health risk are being encouraged to remove the debris, Minneapolis spokeswoman Sarah McKenzie said in a written response to questions. We are going to be handling this appropriately in the best interest for the citizens of Minneapolis effective today.

City officials said they will continue to seek additional property tax relief from the Legislature, which has not moved forward with any bills related to rebuilding efforts in the Twin Cities. Democrats have proposed legislation that would require the reassessment of all riot-damaged property and provide abatements worth up to 100% of a propertys 2020 tax bill. The size of the abatement would depend on the amount of damage.

Read this article:
Minneapolis removes tax demand that was blocking rebuilding of riot-torn areas - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Youre not going anywhere!

Hard to imagine someone telling you that, right? Now imagine those words coming from your own child.

Well, thats what Whitney Thornton faced when her five-year-old son jumped in her truck and demanded she stay home.

Thornton is a truck driver and, after years of being on the road, her kid had had enough. But as a mother, she did what she thought was necessary to provide for him. He was young, and I dont think he understood, said Thornton.

Things were tough for Thornton; she was a single mother and had to leave little Myles with loved ones when she was away. She could be gone a few weeks or 6 months. And although her employer was based in Michigan, Thornton would often steer her freightliner as far as Texas.

This was not the life she wanted for her family.

That would all change as the City of Detroit accelerated the demolition of vacant homes across the city over the last several years.

With that acceleration, however, some small and minority companies were locked out of the process as the City was prevented from targeting certain businesses because of federal guidelines.

More recently, the City has made some adjustments that have opened the doors to smaller companies and specifically Black contractors, said Damion Ellis, Director of Operations at Gayanga Co.

Gayanga, a Detroit-based, Black-owned business, is a full-service construction and civil engineering company with a focus on demolition, renovation, and utility installation.

According to Ellis, in the past, there was a false narrative that Black contractors lacked the capacity and experience to do the work. And unfortunately, that narrative excluded some companies from participating in local projects.

But as opportunities increase for Detroit-based companies due to new guidelines, so do the opportunities for Detroiters to receive those jobs. In fact, 85% of Gayangas employees are Detroit residents, and 95% are minorities.

Ellis says that in order for the city to get the most benefit from construction projects, Detroit-based companies must be intentional about hiring Detroiters. In fact, the message on Gayangas website is this: When Gayanga Co. wins a contract, the Community wins a contract.

You have the Black contractor getting more contracts, and the Black employee getting the opportunity for a livable wage. So that impact is going to increase the number of financially stable households in the city of Detroit, said Ellis. You can work in a demolition program as a construction worker, as a truck driver, and on average you can make $50,000 a year.

Remember Whitney Thornton, our single mom who spent much of her time on the road? Well, shes now a truck driver for Gayanga.

I kept telling Myles I was home for good, but it didnt click with him at first, said Thornton.

Shes of course delighted to be home, but thats not all shes happy about. It just really touches me because I work for a Black-owned company, in the city, making the money I want. It all feels so good to me.

Ellis says that Thornton is hard-working and tough as nails. And although she didnt check all the boxes for the experience Gayanga was looking for at the time, Thornton impressed them with her professionalism and willingness to learn.

Construction is one of the lowest barriers to entry industries. Anyone who wants a job and is committed to putting in the work can have a career in the construction industry, said Ellis.

So, not only can demolition and construction change the landscape of the environment, it can also change the narrative of someones future

I am very happy. My son can grow up with me now.

View post:
The Life-Changing Effects of Demolition - The Neighborhoods

Monday, 10 August 2020 07:42Last Updated: Monday, 10 August 2020 07:46Published: Monday, 10 August 2020 07:42 Joanne WallensteinHits: 195

This is a letter from Lee Road resident Lisa McIver to Village Planner Greg Cutler about the demolition of a house next door to her home:

Hello Greg: After waiting 6 months for the house (at 112 Lee Road) to be demolished they did it this Saturday - the day we left on vacation. Our neighbor luckily heard what was happening. The house was taken down with no water to hold the dust down AND worse the structure fell onto our property. It took down a row of 5-6 large arborvitae trees and broke the Belgium blocks lining our driveway.

Our houses are tight. This builder needs to be careful of our property. Today they piled the dumpster up and did not wet down the debris. Huge clouds of dust were over our property. We are away until Saturday so we havent seen it but I am so angry about the blatant disregard for our property and the unskilled workers.

Here is a photo of the dust coming from the demo one worker and no water to hold down the dust. Our neighbor said our backyard looks awful with tons of dust covering our furniture, house and patio.

Who cleans this up? Will the town test it for asbestos? We come home Saturday and shouldnt be returning to such a mess. Our house and windows will need to be power washed and cleaned. Trees will need to be replanted and the driveway repaired.

We will file a police report when we return. They need us to be home. Would you please check the scene tomorrow? The photos below show the workers on our property with the pieces of their demolition spilling over on our property.

Please help. Our neighborhood cannot handle such blatant disregard for our well-being and our property.

We look forward to quick action.

Thank you,

Lisa Lovisolo McIver109 Lee Road

Visit link:
Neighbors Home Covered in Dust After Home Demolition on Lee Road - Scarsdale10583.com