Liquor Store Owner Flushed Out by New Central Fire Station
Six years exactly to the day he acquired Panio Wines and Liquors, David Pacchiana reluctantly had to relocate his business to an empty storefront near Rite Aid and Antonio’s Pizzeria in the Crossroads Shopping Center in Peekskill.
Pacchiana, a resident of Cortlandt, had a lease with the City of Peekskill to stay put where Panio had become a fixture since 1979 until 2020, but city officials flexed their eminent domain muscle and cancelled the lease in mid-March to make room for the $11.9 million Central Fire Station planned at the intersection of Main and Broad streets.
Through some legal maneuvering, Pacchiana was able to stall the city off until this month, but his time officially ran out on Friday and now he’s trying to reestablish his business in a less visible spot that is about 400 square feet smaller than the self-standing building he previously occupied.
“We think we can work with this space,” Pacchiana said in an exclusive interview with The Northern Westchester Examiner. “We do believe in the growth of Peekskill and we want to be part of it. It just seems like there were a lot of other avenues they could have explored.”
An earlier plan for the Central Fire Station, which will house five of the city’s six volunteer fire companies, would have wiped out a handful of businesses in the Crossroads Shopping Center. A revised plan for the smaller two-story facility that was championed by Mayor Frank Catalina only resulted in Pacchiana having to make a life change.
“When we first heard about it (Central Fire Station) we put ourselves in defensive mode, trying to save for a rainy day and prepare for the worst,” Pacchiana said. “We tried to strategize how to get through without losing our business. It took everything we had and now we have to build up over here what we had over there.”
Pacchiana said he had to sell a lot of his inventory to finance his move, which presented a problem since he stressed “this is an inventory run business.”
“The way to make money is to buy in volume,” he said. “We couldn’t buy a lot of products because we had to move out.”
Under state General Municipal Law, a municipality can only reimburse the owner or tenant of a commercial property a maximum $25,000 to cover moving expenses. Pacchiana and the city remain at loggerheads in Westchester County Court over that issue.
“We feel our livelihood is worth more than $25,000,” Pacchiana said. “We’re not going to wrap it up until the judge makes a fair ruling. We’re just looking for a fair settlement given that our livelihood was taken away.”
Peekskill Deputy Corporation Counsel Melissa Ferraro said she was unable to comment on the pending litigation but noted the city was able to proceed with the Central Fire Station now that Pacchiana had packed his bags. More than two years ago city officials had publicly stated they were looking to break ground.
“Once he’s out of the property we can proceed with moving forward with the Central Fire Station,” Ferraro said. “The city has been trying to evict the tenant.”
City Manager Richard Leins said if bids for construction of the Central Fire Station are approved by the Common Council in September, ground could be broken by October 1. With an 18-month anticipated construction completion time table, city officials are eyeing a spring 2018 unveiling.
“Occupancy and possession have been settled,” Leins commented in regards to Panio Wines and Liquors. “We can only deal with the cards we’re dealt.”
Meanwhile, Pacchiana is optimistic about Panio Wines and Liquors, which is open seven days a week, having its loyal customer base get acquainted with its more modern look and attracting new clientele.
“We’ll have to go through a whole business cycle to see how we’re doing,” Pacchiana said. “We’re lucky we found a way to relocate.”
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
