“My office building and property are literally at Ground Zero” (34)

(34th in a series on Martin Tower)

Martin Tower demolition May 19
www.martintowerbethlehem.com

Informational meeting
Thursday, May 9, 6PM
Nitschmann Middle School

“It is amazing to me that so many people are reacting to this implosion
as entertainment or spectacle rather than a health risk.”
Barbara Diamond

Dr. Nalyn Marcus has operated Marcus Family Chiropractic in Bethlehem since 1991, since 2007 on Eaton Ave., almost directly across the street from the front entrance to the Martin Tower site.

So many questions have been left ignored or unanswered since I began searching for satisfactory preparation answers to prepare and understand the possible ramifications to imploding the Martin Tower. I was told I had good questions but that I was “ahead of the curve.” Please. Our local authorities really were not educated about all of this and definitely not ready to fully protect our community from what is to come as a result of this and the environmental impact left virtually unmentioned. Asbestos out? Yes, “within reason.”

I’ve called everywhere, from EPA, DEP, implosion consultant, City Hall, Dept of Health (who said I was the first call they’d received). It’s been suggested that all will be well and to think of the particulate dust as if it were pollen, to just to keep my doors and windows shut. Are they kidding? My office building and property are literally at Ground Zero: a mere 680 feet from the front door of Martin Tower, with nothing between me and it. This is not biodegradable pollen; this is inorganic waste and will be in the air, coating all in its path, to become runoff in the water, and underfoot. I plan to be at every possible meeting to gather information until I am satisfied that I, my staff, and patients are safe, both now and in the future. Until I am satisfied. This is not just about May 19th: this is about the air quality every day after that. The water, the air, the vegetable gardens, the children, the seniors. The birds in my garden. My lungs. Our lungs! I don’t want a commemorative T-shirt; I want to know that I’m going to breathe healthy air after the implosion, that my business will not suffer with concerned patients avoiding the demolition area. That the air quality in my building will not suffer and be contaminated. I’ve been searching for these answers for weeks. And now, finally, 10 days before the implosion, we’re getting a public meeting. I’m sorry, but that’s very late in the game for our community businesses and families to prepare aptly for an event of this magnitude. No matter what their experience is in the field of demolition, we should have been granted the opportunity for early dissemination of information for clarity and preparation.

This is a big deal. We can’t just rollover as a 21-story building is slated to be pulverized and just trust we’ll all breathe the next day as if nothing big happened. How do we take this all in stride? There’s nothing in the close radius that won’t be coated with unhealthy Tower particulate. We need answers and assurances, and we’re gonna wish we had them weeks ago.

Lord knows I tried.

Nalyn

Gadfly reminds followers that email links to the Mayor and City Council are on the sidebar for easy access. If it is not obvious, the reason Gadfly has been including this footer is to suggest that if you have public health and safety concerns and concerns about tardy City communication (follow-up information was promised mid-April), that you communicate those concerns directly and powerfully to your public officials.