ULSTER CITY, NY – A workplace worker safety sign prominently displaying the 7-Eleven at the closed 841 Ulster Ave. Speedway gas station has raised questions about whether the ownership plans a change.
The sign features a drawing of a construction worker with a diagram of each piece of safety clothing needed and displays the 7-Eleven corporate logo in a font about twice the size of its Speedway, Laredo Taco, Stripes and 7-Now subsidiaries.
“The Building Department only issued an excavation and demolition permit to clean up the site,” said Supervisor James Quigley.
“Part of the restoration process includes the removal of the old gasoline tanks and dispensing materials,” he said.
A status report was expected during a site visit on Tuesday, March 17.
However, city officials have not learned what owner Hess Retail Stores LLC or 7-Eleven Corp. are planning for the site.
“(Building officials) have had three inquiries in the last three or four days,” Quigley said. “It must have been the signal that started to upset people.”
The proposed updates to the Speedway franchise were announced in a January 11, 2024, 7-Eleven quarterly report that discussed the planned rebranding.
“Our top priority consists of the four major initiatives we have established, namely, growing proprietary products, accelerating digitalization and delivery, generating synergies from the integration of 7-Eleven, Inc. and Speedway, and growing and improving the store network,” company officials said, as reported in a transcript of a corporate Q&A session.
The sign also serves as a large warning that Quigley believes is helpful in preventing casual observers from attempting to enter the fenced site.
“We’ve had a couple of incidents where property owners … (who) got away with doing a certain level of work in other communities assumed they could do it in the city of Ulster without having to go to the Department of Buildings or the Planning Board,” he said. “We put an end to it very quickly.”
The old Speedway building was built in 1984. Quigley considers it an outdated structure based on a business model that has not kept up with the competition.
“There have been no discussions with the city Building Department and there certainly have not been any discussions with the city supervisor,” he said. “A modern facility would certainly be an improvement to the… remains of a gas station that was there.”
Hess Retail Stores LLC also operates Speedway stations at 301 Broadway in Kingston and 416 State Route 28 in the town of Ulster.
