Content about New York

NEW YORK, N.Y. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized its plan to demolish a building, dig up contaminated soil and sediment, and treat the ground water at the Crown Cleaners of Watertown Inc. Superfund site in Herrings, N.Y.

The soil and sediment are contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOC) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and the ground water is contaminated with VOC from past operations at this former paper bag manufacturing, laundry and dry cleaning facility.

“EPA’s work at the site during the next phase of the cleanup is a step forward in our effort to protect the health of people who live or work near this abandoned facility,” says Judith A. Enck, EPA regional administrator. “Removing contaminated materials and cleaning up the ground water will reduce the health risks from this site.”

National Cleaners Association DEC Certification course.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — North American Restoration Dry Cleaners (NARD), a national group of textile restoration professionals, has welcomed three new members in expanding its national coverage.

Urban Valet Cleaners, Buffalo, N.Y., has been in the restoration business for more than 10 years and services western New York and northern Pennsylvania.

Bobby Page’s Restoration in northern Nevada has been working restoration dry cleaning for almost 50 years.

Fabricare-Restoration by Margaret’s is recognized as Southern California’s premier dry cleaning institution and as one of the nation’s top cleaning establishments, NARD says. The business recently added a separate division focusing solely on insurance restoration cleaning.

“We are one step closer to our goal of providing national coverage with the finest restoration dry cleaning professionals in the country,” says NARD President Mark Folzenlogen.

National Cleaners Association DEC Certification course, to be held April 9 and April 15 (two days). Call 212-967-3002 or e-mail ncaiclean@aol.com for more information.

National Cleaners Association DEC Certification course, to be held Sept. 30 and Oct. 2 (two days). Call 212-967-3002 or e-mail ncaiclean@aol.com for more information.

National Cleaners Association Extreme Stain Removal/Intensive Bleaching course. Location to be announced. 

National Cleaners Association Technical Training at the Counter/Innovative Packaging course, to be held April 29 in Nanuet, N.Y. Call 212-967-3002 or e-mail ncaiclean@aol.com for more information.

NEW YORK — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized a plan to clean up ground water at the Peninsula Boulevard Ground Water Plume Superfund site in Hempstead, N.Y.

The ground water is contaminated with tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene, dry-cleaning chemicals that can seriously impact people’s health, EPA says.

The cleanup plan entails extracting ground water from the site using pumping wells and treating the water to remove the contaminants before it is disposed of at a public wastewater treatment facility or sent back into surface or ground water.

Residents in the area get their drinking water from the Long Island American Water Co., which operates a drinking water well field approximately 1,000 feet north of the Peninsula Boulevard site. EPA did not detect any contaminants above acceptable levels in ground water from the company during its investigation.

A series of New York State Department of Environmental Conservation investigations in the 1990s revealed an extensive ground water contaminant plume at the site of the former Grove Cleaners, EPA says.

DEC Certification Course. Two-day National Cleaners Association (NCA) course, to be held Jan. 29 and Feb. 5, 2012. Call 212-967-3002 or e-mail ncaiclean@aol.com for more information.

Technical Training at Counter for Customer Service Representatives. National Cleaners Association (NCA) course, to be held Jan. 29, 2012, in New York City. Call 212-967-3002 or e-mail ncaiclean@aol.com for more information.

Technical Training II - Interactive Training for CSRs. One-day NCA course to be held Nov. 20 in New York City. E-mail ncaiclean@aol.com or call 212-967-3002.

LOS ANGELES — I have shopped all over the world: in Toronto, I shop at Rochester Big and Tall. In New York, Rochester Big and Tall. In London, Rochester; Chicago, Rochester. Being 6-foot-4 with 37-inch sleeves, my choices in clothing have been pretty limited. At most big and tall men’s stores, Nehru jackets are just coming into style.

That was a bit of a problem when I was a personal manager and knew that there’d be some “Hollywood” people judging me on my “look.” Though I love dressing well, most clothing stores are fashion museums to me, and stylish clothes the artifacts.

I compensated with ties. I became known for having an amazing tie collection: thin, wide, vintage and new. While designer threads were out of the question because they weren’t made in my size, I got people to focus on the one fashion accessory where I could compete.

Instead of accepting my limitations, I concentrated on the positives.