By Eileen Buckley & Ashley Hassett
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wbfo/local-wbfo-952688.mp3
Buffalo, NY – Buffalo's D-District Police Station is reopening after mold was found last year. The Police station on Hertel Avenue was closed a year ago due to mold in the building's basement.
On February 12, 2010 it was confirmed that mold was detected underneath indoor ceiling panels. The building was closed immediately and all D-District personnel were temporarily relocated to All Saints Catholic School.
Mayor Byron Brown said after environmental and safety testing, the building is reopening.
"After environmental and safety testing. Remediation of this facility and a complete renovation. We are very pleased to reopen the D-District police station," said Mayor Brown.
Public Works Commissioner Steven Stepniak said the mold has been removed and should not be a problem in the future.
"At no time did we find any mold spores that were airborne and that was an important component of this process.. And we went in and worked with the police very diligently to what their concerns were and how we could improve their operations. That's what we did, we went step by step and addressed every concern that they had," said Stepniak.
Steniak told reporters the mold was caused by a moister issue. Water flows underneath the Hertel avenue building from a natural spring and had not previously been addressed with the original building design.
A brand new floor was installed and elevated two and a half feet, with a new pumping system and drain tiles to push the water away.
In March 2010, a final report on air quality and other environmental issues in the building was completed by Leader Professional Service, Inc.
The findings confirmed that there was no adverse impact on the facility's air quality from mold or asbestos.
The City spent $750,000 in renovations to the D-District station.