Nov 17, 2007 11:00 pm US/Eastern
Hotel Implosion Protest In Bal Harbour
NORTH MIAMI (CBS4) ―
The clock is ticking from one of South Florida's more noteworthy hotels. A neighborhood protested Friday night over the destruction of the Sheraton Bal Harbor. This weekend, crews will use dynamite to implode a once thriving tourist spot, but what's inside is causing quite a concern.
The hotel is coming down to be replaced by an exclusive St. Regis Hotel and Residences Sunday at the 97,000 block of Collins Avenue in Bal Harbour at 7:00 a.m.
"What's the rush?, said Brian Mulheren of Bal Harbour Citizens Coalition. "Why are we doing it so fast?"
Mulheren is fighting the demolition because asbestos was found in the building. He points the area is already blanketed in dust and on Sunday, the dust could flood the area, including the Bal Harbor shops.
"This is no where near what 9/11 was, but multiply that in effect in New York we have an epidemic of cancer of the tonsils," Mulheren told CBS4's David Sutta.
At Mulheren request the village of Bal Harbour, and the developer have quickly produced studies. One paid for the developer found no harm to the public. Another one raised concerns about exposure to the dust.
"There has been a perimeter set all the way out to the ocean with police presence to prevent boaters from coming too close," explained Daniel Nieda, Bal Harbour building official. "Collins Avenue will be closed off, and we've also gone to the extent of the FAA, it has no fly zone over the implosion time."
Nieda feels confident those preparations will be enough.
"It's my license and my reputation and that of the village and I take my job very seriously," said Nieda. "It's my job to protect the citizens."
Mulheren has a different opinion.
"He's a part time building official and he has no experience with environmental concerns that we are talking about," said Mulheren.
"After having 2 experts saying that it's not a hazard, he still persistent and now he's resorting to the media," said Nieda. "You're doing your job but I'm confident this is not hazardous, the alternative is to bring this down manually with a wrecking ball."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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