March 2, 2006

RYAN CHALLENGES SOLID WASTE COMMISSION’S FINDING THAT AMODIO’S ISN’T SUBJECT TO COUNTY REGULATION

---Demands Commission uphold, not side-step County law---

Bill Ryan (D-I-WF, White Plains), Chair of Westchester’s Board of Legislators, has challenged the County Solid Waste Commission’s recent decision that Amodio’s Garden Center in White Plains doesn’t need a license to continue its hauling and transfer station activities. “The Commission has clearly

ignored an extensive body of evidence that says otherwise, including three separate investigations,” Ryan stated.

Ryan, whose legislative district includes the neighborhood where Amodio's is located, wants to know from the Solid Waste Commission’s head just why that body chose to ignore the facts and not apply the law. Additionally, Ryan wants answers from the County’s Health Department about Amodio’s operation and whether its activities such as rock-crushing need a permit, which is required of similar facilities.

“Amodio’s operations may be compromising air quality in the nearby area and increasing the health risks to neighboring residents,” Ryan said. “We need our health professionals to weigh in on this situation.”

Ryan said that he has begun an extensive review of the Solid Waste Law “to make sure that clear violators such as Amodio’s are covered while other garden centers that are not involved in true hauling and transfer station activities are held harmless.”

“If any legislative fixes are needed, I’m going to make them quickly and bring them before the full Board for passage,” Ryan pledged.

Ryan’s actions come on the heels of a meeting yesterday on Amodio’s held by the Board’s Committee on Environment and Energy, which oversees the Solid Waste Commission. County Legislator Tom Abinanti (D, Greenburgh), said the Committee, which he chairs, would “continue and intensify” its investigation of Amodio’s and will scrutinize the actions of the Commission and any other county department or agency that should be involved with this matter.

Legislator Tom Abinanti

“Three different investigation teams –an independent firm hired by the Board of Legislators, the County Police and the Commission’s own staff -- found substantial, undeniable evidence that Amodio’s is running a hauling and transfer station operation alongside its nursery business,” Ryan said. “And residents of the Hillaire and Saxon Woods neighborhoods have diligently monitored Amodio’s activities and have provided photographs and other important evidence that further substantiates the conclusions of the investigations.”

Residents who live near Amodio’s have long complained to White Plains city officials that Amodio’s hauling and transfer station activities violated local zoning and significantly diminished their quality of life. However, only recently has the city acted on those complaints and filed a lawsuit against Amodios.

“White Plains originally gave Amodio’s permission to operate its business in a residential area solely as a neighborhood garden center,” said Ryan. “But in recent years Amodio’s has expanded its operations to include hauling, processing and other transfer station activities. The facts say Amodio’s should be licensed, something everyone but the Sold Waste Commission seems to understand.”