The Town of New Windsor is currently in the process of remediating the Destinta Theater site after contaminated soil was discovered. The site is seeking redevelopment but work has stopped indefinitely.

The former Squire Cinema movie theater and its successor, the former Destinta Theater, on Quassaick Avenue, were staples in the community before being demolished.

The owner listed for 215 Quassaick Avenue, the construction site, is New Windsor Destinta Plaza LLC, c/o JP Management, in Hackensack, New Jersey. The organization Schaffer Trucking LLC, also out of Hackensack, was contracted for the project, according to Town Supervisor Stephen Bedetti.

At the town council work session on April 29, Bedetti informed the board the site was in the process of being regraded. Grading in construction involves reshaping of the land at a specific base or slope.

Discussing the site grading, Bedetti reported the fill material being used was deemed unacceptable by the town and a stop-work order was issued. The request from the town’s fire inspector’s office was to take the material out of the site.

Bedetti said that during a morning drive two Saturdays before the work session, he saw several vehicles dumping dirt and material at the site, with workers claiming that material was needed to be mixed with the local soil. That material, according to Bedetti, was apparently brought from New Jersey to New Windsor.

The stop-work order was issued and Bedetti later requested the soil to be tested. “Lo and behold, it was not good dirt,” Bedetti said. “They’re stopped now indefinitely.”

During the course of the project, town documents show, four stop-work orders were issued: on January 17, March 18, April 11 and April 15.

In obtained documents, the organization Phoenix Environmental Laboratories prepared reports dated April 22, 2024 on two composite samples of soil at the theater site.

Miller Environmental Group Inc. expressed several concerns to the town based on the report, beginning with the detected levels of lead, Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and trichlorofluoromethane.

Trichlorofluoromethane, according to the American Chemical Society, also goes by the name Freon 11. It is a refrigerant, aerosol propellant, and foam-blowing agent. However, the chemical is determined to be hazardous as skin contact can be harmful. The report detected 2000 parts per billion (ppb) of (PCBs). According to the EPA, PCBs were widely used commercially before being banned in 1979 and have been known to cause adverse health problems.

Other chemical elements detected in the soil found elevated levels of arsenic, barium, cadmium and chromium. Increased exposure to these elements can be harmful to humans.

The Mid Hudson Times reached out to John Pieternikaj of JP Management for comment. The response was, “No comment.”

Schaffer Trucking LLC was also contacted for comment but had not responded as of Tuesday afternoon.

Destinta closed its doors in 2019 and came under the ownership of Phoenix Theatres. It later reopened but closed again and remained vacant for several years. The idea proposed to the town for redevelopment would be for the site to be constructed with new apartments. Town zoning does not permit residential usage -- only commercial -- at this time.