The Chappaqua Fire Department recently identified more than 20 fire hydrants at Chappaqua Crossing that had no running water or were rusted shut, threatening the safety of the bustling retail center.
The Town of New Castle has since restored nearly all of the hydrants to service as of last week. Developer Summit/Greenfield is currently responsible for maintaining the site’s fire protection equipment, not the town, said Town Administrator Jill Shapiro.
The hydrants are also part of a longer list of fire safety concerns at the former Reader’s Digest site, now home to about 120,000 square feet of retail space, which includes Whole Foods and Life Time Fitness.
“If there was a fire, we wouldn’t be able to get water out of them,” Russell Maitland, the fire chief at the Chappaqua Fire Department, said during a June 11 New Castle Fire District #1 commissioners meeting.