A Greenburgh shopping center is demanding nearly $360,000 from a former dry cleaning tenant to cover the costs of an environmental cleanup caused by a hazardous chemical spill.
Greenburgh Shopping Center Associates is demanding that Youn Do Hwang, the operator of Deb-Rich Cleaners, be held responsible for the cleanup under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, in a complaint filed Dec. 20 in U.S. District Court, White Plains.
Debrich Cleaners Inc. was formed in 1970 by Jacob Rabinowitz, according to a state corporations record. In 1992, Debrich assigned the Deb-Rich Cleaners lease for 91 Knollwood Road to Hwang.
The lease required Hwang to cover the costs of waste disposal and nonstructural maintenance and repairs, according to the complaint. He agreed to assume responsibility for any damages to the property and to obtain $500,000 in liability insurance.
Hwang decided to close the business last year, and he allegedly hired an unincorporated, unregistered, unlicensed and uninsured contractor ”” Marcelo, doing business as N.Y.C. Scrap Metal Pickup ”” to remove property from the store.
As the work was being done on Dec. 1, 2020, Perc spilled inside the store, the complaint states, and seeped below the floor and into the soil beneath the building.
Perc, also known as perchloroethylene or tetrachloroethylene, is classified as a hazardous chemical that can affect the central nervous system and other organs.
The landlord says it responded immediately when it learned of the spill, hiring CA Rich Consultants to assess the extent of the chemical exposure and begin the cleanup and Emergi-Clean Inc. to remove contaminated soil and water.
An eight-month cleanup has cost more than $96,000, according to the complaint, and more remediation is expected to cost another $105,000. Total losses, including lost rents, are $359,064.
The landlord filed a claim under the dry cleaner’s insurance policy, the complaint states, and discovered that the policy had been terminated for failure to pay premiums and that Deb-Rich Cleaners had previously operated without insurance for more than six years.
Hwang allegedly has paid nothing for the cleanup.
The shopping center accused Hwang of negligence; private nuisance; and breaches of contract for failures to properly dispose of waste, maintain the premises, procure insurance and pay rent.
Efforts to contact Hwang for his side of the story failed. His last known address was in Piermont, Rockland County.
The shopping center is represented by Elmsford attorney Robert B. Weissman.
