New Haven Register, Andy Bromage, Register Staff, 10/31/2005

NEW HAVEN —A colossal shear will begin chewing apart the New Haven Coliseum today, heralding the end of the arena that for decades was home to hockey teams, rock stars and legions of dedicated fans. Crews from Stamford Wrecking will saddle up in one of the world’s largest excavators, attach to it a giant metal claw and go to town, said Anthony Bialecki, the city’s deputy development administrator.

"There’s a special shear which is like a lobster claw," he said. "It takes steel beams up to 36 inches around and just cuts through them like butter."

The excavator, a virtual Tonka truck on steroids, is so big it arrived in pieces on flatbed trailers over several days and required a crane to put it together.

Mayor John DeStefano Jr., along with Bialecki and other city officials, will mark the start of Phase 2 demolition at a 3:30 p.m. press conference.

Workers continued site preparation at the Coliseum last week, piling up mounds of dirt to cushion the Coliseum’s fall, and removing wood scaffolding used in asbestos abatement.

"It’s a shame," one worker said of the Coliseum’s imminent demise.

The Coliseum and the former Macy’s building on Church Street are coming down as part of a major development project.

The state has bonded $97 million to construct Gateway Community College on Church Street, where Macy’s and the former Edw. G. Malley department stores were located, leaving the Coliseum site for a new Long Wharf Theater and a possible hotel and residential construction.

Environmental cleanup wrapped up Thursday, meaning exterior demolition can begin. Crews removed asbestos and disposed of fluorescent lights and other hazardous materials.

Today is when "conventional" demolition begins; that will last around six weeks. The machinery will tear the main body of the Coliseum apart from the outside in, Bialecki said.

Everything from locker rooms and ticket booths to seating areas and catwalks will come down in Phase 2.

When that’s done, Veterans Memorial Coliseum will be nothing more than a 4-acre parking deck suspended 90 feet above Orange Street South.

Sixteen concrete pylons and a single side of the arena will be the only supports holding up the structure.

Then comes the moment some have been waiting for and others have dreaded: implosion.

"It will take 18 seconds to come down and 15 seconds for stuff to settle," Bialecki said. "Right away, crews will go into cleanup mode."

The date with dynamite is a moving target, but right now it looks set for early January, Bialecki said. The arena will go boom on a Sunday at dawn to minimize impact on traffic and neighbors.

After several delays, it now appears that Jan. 8, 15, 22, or 29 will be the day the Coliseum dies.

The commencement of demolition is a day long dreaded by those who fought to save the arena and anticipated by Ninth Square residents and business owners.

Peter Del Franco, whose restaurant Avellino’s Trattoria, 4 Orange St., sits in the Coliseum’s long shadow, said he can’t wait until it’s gone.

"You’ve got a lot of people investing a lot of money in restaurants down here that are just waiting for it to come down," he said. "It’s definitely going to be an improvement."

The restaurant’s manager, Santos Torres Jr., said he’ll have a front-row seat at today’s demolition.

"As soon as the scissors cut that first piece of steel, it will be a huge relief," Torres said.

Road closures will be minimal during demolition. South Orange Street underneath the Coliseum will close today or later in the week briefly, except for deliveries through the truck tunnel.

Jersey barriers on George Street will shut off two lanes of traffic, instead of one, and remove 10-15 parking spots, Bialecki said.