NIAGARA, N.Y. (WIVB) – As Amazon builds its $550 million distribution center in the Town of Niagara there are some health concerns with the development of the property.
Those concerns come from members of a neighboring group home.
On Wednesday, News 4 heard from a parent who says her daughter has been living at that group home for 17 years. They have concerns about noise and debris flying in the air, and that when heavy machinery is used at the Amazon site, the walls shake inside.
Amazon has been in the process of clearing more than 200 acres of land on Lockport Road in the Town of Niagara.
They’re making way for a massive, three million square foot E-commerce storage and distribution facility. But in the past several weeks, families at the Empower group home right next door say they’ve noticed an uptick in activity at the site.
Alison Nam says her daughter has cerebral palsy and is autistic. She says she’s reaching out to the state to try to get her daughter relocated.
“They disregarded a lot of the residents that live along this road Lockport Road that didn’t want this facility built right here they could’ve chosen other shovel ready property in the area,” Alison Nam said, “It all comes down to greed making money they don’t care about the health and welfare and safety of our disabled residents.”
On Wednesday, News 4 didn’t see any work being done at the site. Amazon received all the approvals necessary to get the project off the ground from Zoning to Planning approval.
The town did an assessment on the project in consultation with the DEC and found no significant adverse effects on the environment. Once construction gets underway it’s expected to take about two years to build.
Amazon says they’re taking a look into the situation.
News 4 has reached out to the DEC and Town of Niagara officials about these complaints, we’re waiting to hear back.
According to documents on the Amazon project, Amazon says impacts to nearby properties will be limited. Amazon also needs to follow town rules on noise which prohibits unreasonable noise during overnight hours. Amazon says when construction gets underway, they will mitigate noise impacts as best they can and that regular operation of the project will have minimal impacts on air quality.
Jeff Preval is an award-winning anchor and reporter who joined the News 4 team in December 2021. See more of his work here.