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Rye Apartment Residents Out of Home for Weeks After Oil Spill

Posted on Sep 02, 2011

The Highlands apartment complex in Rye suffered serious damage after a fuel tank ruptured during Tropical Storm Irene. More than 7,000 gallons of oil was said to have spilled during the storm and residents are not expected to be able to return home for weeks.

For now, the damaged building is not safe for residents. There are 99 residential units along with three business located in the Highlands Road building. The Department of health has stated that tenants can only return once the building has been decontaminated and the electrical system of the building repaired. There was obvious signs of the fuel spill present during the inspection.

The state of New York is expected to assist the building's owner with finding temporary lodging for all tenants during the repair work on the apartments. While some residents on the higher floors may be able to return within weeks, those apartments on the lower floors may be out of their homes for much longer as they were affected directly by the fuel spill.

The residents of the apartment building were criticizing the managers of the building for failing to respond to the oil spill in a timely manner. There were also allegations that apartments located under the ground level were historically shown as being vulnerable to flooding and could pose a threat to residents living there. Some residents were reported to have more than six feet of water in their apartments and had to evacuate the building through windows because the apartment had electronic locks that were not functioning during the flooding.

The Long Island Sound was tested for oil contamination but it is believed that heavy rains help to dissipate the oil beforehand.

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Lever & Stolzenberg, LLP is located in White Plains, New York and serves clients throughout the state, including New York City's five boroughs (The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and Staten Island) as well as Westchester County, Rockland County and Long Island. 

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