Around this time of year, business owners in downtown West Orange are preparing for the St. Patrick’s Day parade. But this year, Daniel Garcia-Pedrosa, owner of 450 Main Street, is just trying to make his storefront appear presentable, after a bus rammed into his building eight months ago.
“I want to get it fixed as soon as possible,” he said. “I wish it were finished yesterday.”
With the township’s parade scheduled for March 15, Garcia-Pedrosa said he is rushing to get the storefront renovated, but it’s a race against time. If the parade happens before then, he said he is brainstorming ways to veil the wreckage. One idea is to drape an oversized Irish flag over the facade.
Garcia-Pedrosa remembers vividly the phone call from town officials that awoke him after midnight on July 19. A NJ Transit bus had just barreled into the Oak Tree Nail Salon — one of his tenants — at 446 Main Street.
Police officers arrived at the scene shortly after 1 a.m. and reported no one was harmed when the driver, identified as 62-year-old Joseph Etienne, accidentally slammed on the gas pedal while traversing the intersection, the police reported. No charges were filed.
“During the maneuver, he mistakenly pressed the accelerator instead of the brake, causing the bus to travel forward at speed and crash directly into the Oak Tree Nail Salon,” officer Justin Marum wrote.
NJ Transit didn’t respond to questions about the crash or whether Etienne is still employed as a driver.
The accident left the building, including the second-floor apartments uninhabitable. The stairwell was clogged with rubble. Five residents living in the second-floor apartments had to be relocated. The entire episode has cost owner Daniel Garcia-Pedrosa $100,000 in damage.
“That’s the total amount of the insurance claim; it includes renovations, loss of rent, and other fees,” Garcia-Pedrosa said. “It was quite a scene, but thankfully no one was hurt.”
After the crash, it took workers a week just to remove the debris from the nail salon, he said.
The impact of the bus ramming into the brick wall caused a streetlamp to get lodged in the ceiling of the building. When the bus was removed from the building with the help of a tow truck, it caused the pole to puncture the floor of the bedroom on the second-floor apartment.
“It was sticking up through the floor,” he said.
“It was crazy,” said Allan Porras, the owner of Porras General Contractor, which is in charge of the renovation. “The floor just popped.”
Garcia-Pedrosa is one of downtown West Orange’s major property holders, owning 253-255, 257, 426-271, and 436-450 Main Street. He also owns the Llewellyn Hotel where he is working on reviving a plan to restore the building, despite telling our publication last year that the deal was off.
He said, despite the closing of hotspots like bakery Willow & Olivia and restaurant Nicholas Anthony’s, he is still a believer in Main Street’s future. His determination to rebuild the Oak Tree Nail Salon is evidence of that.
“The restaurant business is tough and there’s naturally going to be turnover,” he said, noting that coffeehouse Cafecito just moved into his building next to the Llewellyn Hotel. “I don’t think people have a full picture of what’s going on here and some of the new businesses coming in are excellent.”
