What was once the center of the Westbury, NY, community has stood empty for 13 years and is soon to be demolished to make way for new development.

Eastern Resource Service Inc. (ERS) has been contracted to tear down the Roosevelt Raceway, a 30-year legend in the community.

The Roosevelt Raceway was built in 1941 and closed in 1987. During much of that time, the raceway was the town’s main attraction. It also was a gathering place for many large events, like car shows, flea markets and concerts.

The gigantic facility housed large ballrooms, 300 offices and numerous hidden passageways. There were attorney’s offices as well as law-enforcement offices in the main building.

Contractors at ERS said they have received several unusual requests during the demolition of the community landmark. Some residents have asked for the old seats from the grandstands they spent so much time in over the years. One woman requested that the ashes of her deceased husband be spread across the front stretch. ERS has accommodated as many of the requests as possible.

The job originally was bid as an implosion, but those plans changed and ERS is using a crane with a wrecking ball to knock the structure down. A fleet of excavators equipped with grapples and shear is separating the materials.

At this site, ERS is using mostly Hitachi excavators rented from Formula Equipment of Rock Tavern, NY.

The rented fleet includes an EX200, an EX330, an EX400 and an EX450. All of the excavators are equipped with either grapples or hydraulic shears.

The fleet of Hitachis is used to separate materials for recycling.

“We rent out equipment from Formula Equipment because of the dependable and reliable services we receive from them,” said Steve Cotton of ERS. “We rent because that keeps us mobile. Our next job could be 1,000 miles away from here, and renting equipment best serves that type of situation…Another reason we like to rent equipment is because in this situation, it is not easy for us to service our equipment on site.

“We have had many previous experiences with Formula Equipment in New York and in New Jersey, and they have all been pleasant experiences. The Hitachi excavators are very dependable machines.”

Cotton said Formula’s service is what keeps ERS coming back to rent equipment.

“We have dealt with [our service representative] on several occasions, and we have found him to be very helpful. He promptly answers our questions and takes care of any problems immediately.”

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