Doritex Voluntarily Funds Cleanup of Dry-Cleaning Site
TRSA member Doritex Corp., Alden, NY, will pay an estimated $1 million over the next 30 years to clean up a contaminated former dry-cleaning site in Cheektowaga, NY. In August, Doritex paid the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) $491,000 to cover all of the costs associated with the cleanup to date, according to news reports.
The former Doro’s Dry Cleaners site was found to be contaminated by unsafe levels of common dry-cleaning chemicals including tetrachloroethylene, or PERC. In 2010, the NYSDEC listed the site as hazardous and determined that it presented “a significant threat to public health or the environment.” It was listed as a state Superfund site, according to the report.
Doritex officials said the payments are voluntary, and added that the company began negotiations with the NYSDEC to clean up the site even though it never owned the Doro’s Dry Cleaners property, the report said. “Standards were far different in the ’50s when my dad was involved with the business, and I just felt it was a family legacy and responsibility to take care of this unfortunate situation,” said Doritex President Jim Doro, a former TRSA chairman. “DEC is doing its job, and we’re stepping up to do what’s right.”
Doritex began in 1972 by Doro’s Dry Cleaners’ founder (and Jim Doro’s father) Alfred Doro, and his sons, as an off-shoot of the dry-cleaning business. The dry-cleaning company eventually closed after Alfred Doro passed away in 1998.
“We live here, we want to stay here; I have grandchildren that live here,” Jim Doro said. “Customers and employees are all looking at us to do the right thing and that’s what we’re doing.”