The market was built on a site operated as a gas station by the Kennell family for more than 60 years until 1991. The underground tanks were removed and the site underwent remediation for contamination from years of leaking petroleum products. The remediation process was designed and overseen by environmental consultant Deborah Thompson of DT Consulting and approved by county and state authorities.

Subsequently, the property was sold by the Kennells to a group represented by Nyack attorney Burton Dorfman. They replaced the old gas station with a more modern structure and in 2008, leased it to Diane Walsh for 10 years for $7,000 monthly the first 5 years, and $8,000 monthly the next five years. Under the lease, Walsh was also to be responsible for property taxes.

In April 2010 she opened the market, selling coffee, bakery products and food cooked on the premises and hosting local events. It became a welcome stop for local residents and passers-by in autos and on bikes. Six months later, on October 1st, the market closed “until further notice due to circumstances beyond our control,” according to a sign on the door.

Walsh said she had to close the market because she and some of her employees were being sickened by fumes apparently coming from the cellar and which she believed were the result of insufficient cleanup of the petroleum leakage at the site. She presented to the owners a report of air testing by a consultant showing potentially harmful levels of contaminants.

The present owners are Burton Dorfman’s son Jesse and Mitchell Klein. After receiving Walsh’s test results, they hired DT Consulting to do a separate set of tests. The results were submitted to the Rockland County Department of Health. In early November, Catherine Quinn of the Rockland County Health Department said the DT Consulting tests of air and water at the site showed “some low detections” but not enough contaminants to cause concern. “Nothing in any of the three The Palisades Market Closes sampling events indicated any indoor problems or source for any indoor problems,” Quinn said.

An article in Our Town, quoting Deborah Thompson, questioned the credentials and results of Walsh’s first consultant. Walsh said she sought new tests from Woodard & Curran, a large environmental consulting firm with offices throughout the Northeast. Walsh said preliminary figures show “high levels of volatile organic compounds in the air.” She said she is trying to arrange for Woodard & Curran to test soil samples.

Walsh said she believed that large kitchen fans sucking air out of the building may have drawn in contaminants which made her and others feel sick.

The owners are represented by Piermont attorney Patricia Finn. Finn has served Walsh with a demand that Walsh pay $27,842 in unpaid rent and property taxes or be evicted from the Palisades Market property.

Walsh replied through Englewood attorney Howard Davis that the notice to evict is “improper and should be rescinded” and that the owners should take “all actions necessary to address the indoor air hazard.”

Subsequently, Walsh hired Nyack law firm Feerick, Lynch and McCartney to represent her in the matter of eviction. Attorney Donald J. Feerick, Jr. said the owners’ allegations “will be addressed appropriately in a court of law.” It is expected that the question of whether the site was adequately remediated will also be the subject of legal action.