Asbestos was found in the kitchen and other parts of Terrace on the Park.
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Carcinogen Found In Terrace On The Park
By LIZ GOFF
FLUSHING, SEPT. 16, 1998: More than 20 months after a Queens Tribune investigation uncovered evidence that the borough’s top catering facility, Terrace On The Park, was laden with asbestos, the Queens landmark has reopened.
Boasting major renovations and a new “International Menu,” the hall is now being run by the Crystal Ball Group, comprised of five partners who share a wealth of experience in serving up good times and great food.
The Tribune hit the street on Jan. 16, 1997, with the news that the towering structure on 111th Street was “crawling with asbestos.”
To make things worse, sources within City government said the Parks Department knew about the asbestos for years – and did little to ensure that the building was safe for the public.
However, following the publication of the Tribune exposé, the Parks Department dispatched a team of investigators to inspect conditions at the building, which proved that the kitchen at Terrace On The Park was contaminated. Parks Department Commissioner Henry Stern immediately ordered the kitchen closed.
The Tribune then published a series of exclusive photos that revealed crumbling asbestos in the boiler room, the basement machinery room and other areas of the catering facility.
Federal agents from the Occupational Safety & Health Administration later backed the Tribune’s claim by confirming that serious asbestos problems existed in “other parts” of the facility — not in just the kitchen area.
The feds slapped the former owners of Terrace On The Park with a total of $5,500 in fines – payable within 30 days, and gave them 13 months to correct a laundry list of violations.
A subsequent order issued by the City Parks Department demanded that Terrace “immediately” secure the affected areas and complete the required cleanup.
Instead of taking action to secure public safety – and the safety of workers at Terrace – bickering continued between the owners of the facility and the City over who should bear the cost of the cleanup.
City Councilman Sheldon Leffler, chairman of the Council’s Public Safety Committee, then called for Council oversight into the Terrace On The Park scandal. Leffler’s initiative shed a needed light on the inaction of borough and City officials, and the Parks Department, in addressing the asbestos condition at Terrace On The Park.
The City demanded that Terrace on the Park’s management clean up the mess, still denying that it had any knowledge of the asbestos problem. Sources, however, told the Tribune that the City was fully aware of the problem, with Ed Buchanan, the former executive chef at Terrace saying, “Many of us knew of the problem from day one, as did the Parks Department and management of Terrace on the Park.”
Buchanan said when the building would shake – the result of an architectural defect – the asbestos could have easily flown into the air and into the ventilation ducts.
Former Parks Chief of Operations for Capital Projects Kenneth Myslik also said the Parks Department knew of the problem, and presented notes showing the matter was discussed in meetings.
The end results of the investigation were that the contract was awarded to a different agency, the asbestos was cleaned up, and the 120-foot tall catering hall is now safe.
