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There apparently is a suitor for the property left vacant by Precision Valve on Nepperhan Avenue in Yonkers.
The 159 Babcock Co. L.L.C. is interested in the property, according to Chuck Lesnick, president of the Yonkers City Council. The limited liability company is owned by Ron Shemesh, CEO of Excelsior Packaging Group on Alexander Street.
The company, represented by attorney James Veneruso, appeared before the City Council”™s Real Estate Committee last week seeking to dissolve a portion of Worth Street adjacent to Precision Valve.
From 700 Nepperhan Ave., where the former valve manufacturer was located, to the Saw Mill River, the road is solely a paper street, having vanished when the plant was built. A proposal to discontinue that section of the street will be discussed at a public hearing Sept. 8 before the City Council.
The portion of Worth Street running from the river eastward to Saw Mill River Road, would remain a public street.
Attempts to reach Shemesh and Veneruso for comment were unsuccessful.
Lesnick said that the council was approached over the summer by Veneruso seeking a public hearing.
According to Lesnick, Veneruso indicated during the meeting that one possibility for Excelsior is that it could vacate its site on Alexander Street and move operations to Nepperhan Avenue.
Excelsior provides packaging for industrial use, perishable and grocery foods, and medical and health care use. It is also the exclusive manufacturer of the SteamFast technology for microwave cooking.
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According to Hoover”™s, an online database, Excelsior had 2008 sales of $41 million. It has about 150 workers at its Yonkers plant.
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The company”™s location on Alexander Street is in an area that has been slated by the city for a major overhaul.
According to the Alexander Street Master Plan, a grid of streets would be created to develop a mix of residential, retail, commercial and open space. The plan calls for “the creation of a new waterfront neighborhood with amenities that serve the entire Yonkers community.”
Excelsior has taken the plan to task, especially the draft generic environmental impact statement (DGEIS). In a Feb. 14, 2008, letter to the city”™s Community Development Agency, Excelsior said the plan would force it to move out of state, leaving “many of the current employees without work.”
The cost of moving would be high as the company would need to “dismantle large, heavy presses that will take several months and result in the shutting down of the production line disrupting the distribution of Excelsior”™s products to its customers,” the letter stated.
In addition to generating jobs, the company pays $291,488 annually in taxes on its 8.8 acres of industrially zoned land.
Earlier this year, Precision Valve consolidated its operations to its plant in Greenville, S.C., after 60 years of manufacturing in Yonkers.
