Dover Greens to pay OSHA $700,000

DOVER — The Olivet University site at the former Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center — now known as Dover Greens LLC — has agreed to a settlement with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the U.S. Department of Labor, to the tune of $700,000. The fine, whittled down from the original fine of $2.3 million, is for safety infractions at the Dover site, when workers were reportedly exposed to lead and asbestos in October of 2013.

There were dozens of violations charged against Olivet Management LLC, at the time, “after the developer exposed its own employees and employees of 13 contractors to lead and asbestos hazards during renovation and cleanup operations,” according to OSHA. 

In a statement from Dover Greens issued on March 28, the company “maintains that no construction or remediation efforts requiring permitting commenced during that time, and that none of its cosmetic-related activities could reasonably expose any workers to harmful levels of any hazardous substance.

“Nonetheless,” the statement continued, “Dover Greens has settled with OSHA and has agreed to pay $700,000 as an investment to ensure future worker safety, including health and environmental awareness, for the restoration of the former state-owned facility.”

“We are grateful that a settlement has been reached and we can move forward with our long-term commitment to help bring new jobs and economic stability to the Dover area and we are pleased to invest in future workers’ health and safety through this settlement,” said Dover Greens spokesperson Terence Michos.

The $2.3 million fine was levied against the real estate development and management company following the original complaint. The new settlement “obligates the company to do things correctly this time and take additional steps to ensure safe and healthful working conditions, or face the full original fine,” according to OSHA Regional Administrator in New York Robert Kulick. 

“The terms of the settlement are stringent and comprehensive.  They seek to ensure that the company provides the project’s employees with safe and healthful working conditions at all times. We are prepared to take appropriate action to escalate penalties should it fail to live up to its commitments,” said Jeffrey Rogoff, regional solicitor of labor in New York.

Those terms mandate that Dover Greens does the following:

• Hire a general contractor experienced with lead and asbestos hazards on a construction site, and with a project of this type and magnitude;

• Hire a qualified safety-consulting firm to monitor the project and  be on site while work is being done;

• Ensure all contractors and subcontractors are properly trained to perform their jobs, that their on site supervisors have completed the OSHA 30-hour course and that there’s a site-specific health and safety program in place;

• Make sure contractors whose employees may come in contact with lead or asbestos have training and experience with OSHA lead and asbestos standards;

• Not oppose workers’ compensation claims for illnesses resulting from lead or asbestos exposure;

• Provide site workers with notice in English, Spanish and Korean of their rights to bring claims under the state workers’ compensation program.

Under the new settlement, Dover Greens has 10 years to pay the $700,000 worth of fines. If it fails to comply with the specific terms of the agreement, the balance of $1.659 million being held in abeyance will become payable immediately.

Michos said the time since the fines were initially imposed has not been lost.

“We are also excited about some of the progress that has occurred during the extended time we have been working toward this recent resolution,” he said. “In October 2015, the New York State Department of Education granted Olivet University permission to operate status and in January of this year The World Evangelical Alliance unveiled its new Evangelical Center on the campus of Olivet University.”

Dover Greens is to be the New York base of the evangelical Christian university, Olivet University, headquartered in San Francisco. Plans include building an educational, IT and research center, and eventually retail space, once the Dover Greens site is completed.

In 2013, Olivet Management LLC bought 508 acres of the former psychiatric center, which closed in 1974 and lay abandoned for more than two decades. In 1994, the property was purchased by the Benjamin Companies, with plans for a mixed-used development. Those plans fell through and the property was sold to Olivet in August 2013.

Presently, the developers are working with the Dover Planning Board to obtain site plan and master plan approval for the project. 

“We have a good working relationship with the town of Dover and over the past months have had positive meetings with the town Planning Board as we work with them to obtain Phase 1 Site Plan and Master Plan approval for the project,” said Michos. “Thankfully, we see no further obstacles to unlocking the potential of this project for the entire Dover community.”