On Sunday during our interview with Town Manager Andy Hyatt both he and Mayor Dan Allers announced that the town is looking into whether or not they are legally able to knock down Terry Persaud’s Fresh Catch building.
Persaud was given notice last week that the town was days away from demolishing the former Junkanoo/Fresh Catch building on Ester Boulevard that he hasn’t touched since Hurricane Ian in September of 2022. Not only has it not been touched, the property is not fenced off and the building can be easily accessed making it an unsafe structure to the public.
Once Persaud was notified the town would be demolishing the building and applying the cost to his next tax bill he quickly applied for a demo permit with the town which gives him until September 1st to knock the structure down and clean the property.
It was clear from Sunday’s interview that neither Hyatt nor Mayor Allers believe that Persaud will demo the structure and they are looking into whether it’s legal to continue with the process they started nearly a year ago to get that building taken down. The town red-tagged the structure in 2024 and took all the steps it gives each property owner when they are flagged for unsafe structures. In every case so far the property owner has moved quickly to come into compliance and the town has not yet had to take down a structure.
Town Council members – and Hyatt – were furious when Persaud came before the Town Council earlier this year and told them point blank it was his decision not to take the building down, that nothing was really preventing him from cleaning up the property. Persaud also owns the Dairy Queen property in Times Square which is an additional eyesore and needs cleaning up that he refuses to do. At the same time Persaud is proposing a resort and restaurant in Times Square that he expects this Town Council to approve.
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