400+ Violations Found At Fatal Lake Street Fire Landlord's Properties

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — The owner of 118 S. Lake St., the site of a fire that killed five people March 4, is connected to properties in Spring Valley and Hillcrest where hundreds of potential violations of building and safety codes have been found, according to Rockland County officials.

The Rockland County Office of Buildings and Codes and the Department of Health Center for Rockland Codes Investigations spent the past two weeks inspecting all properties owned by Jacob Jeremias, his wife Etsy Jeremias, and properties under his corporation, 7 Ohio LLC, officials said Wednesday. They started right away: Rockland County Inspectors Descend On Homes Next To Site Of Fatal Fire

"Following the fatal fire in Spring Valley, I directed our Office of Buildings and Codes and our Center for Rockland Codes Investigations to operate in a two-fold mission to inspect all properties owned by Mr. Jeremias," County Executive Ed Day told Patch on Thursday. "That resulted in citing this landlord for over 400 violations and counting and we will utilize every tool at our disposal to make sure every single one of those violations are remedied."

The OBC found a significant number of New York State Fire Prevention and Building Code violations at each of the following properties owned and related to Jacob Jeremias, officials said. 116 S. Lake St., Spring Valley

• 118 S. Lake St., Spring Valley
• 120 S. Lake St., Spring Valley
• 122 S. Lake St., Spring Valley
• 86 N. Lake St., Spring Valley
• 3 Jay St., Spring Valley
• 6 Sherwood Ave., Spring Valley
• 4 Ohio Ave., Spring Valley
• 5 Ohio Ave., Spring Valley
• 7 Ohio Ave., Spring Valley

An excess of 250 potential violations were found and are being finalized. A property-by-property breakdown of violations will be provided once they have been issued.

Meanwhile, the Center for Rockland Codes Investigations found more than 150 potential violations on the following properties owned and related to Jeremias:

• 120 S. Lake St., Spring Valley
• 122 S. Lake St., Spring Valley
• 6 Sherwood Ave., Spring Valley
• 4 Ohio Ave., Spring Valley
• 5 Ohio Ave., Spring Valley
• 7 Ohio Ave., Spring Valley
• 3 De Baun Place, Hillcrest
• 46 West Hickory St., Hillcrest

Fines are still being assessed and finalized, officials said; but many properties had common violations including:

• single-room occupancies
• electrical issues
• missing smoke & carbon monoxide detectors

Inspectors learned smoke detectors were installed by the landlord in at least three properties following the fatal fire, officials said.

The County Office of Buildings and Codes assumed control of the Village of Spring Valley's Building Department as ordered by New York State Department of State a year ago (SEE: Taking On 'Ground Zero For Illegal Housing' In Rockland County) and in that time had not received any complaints about 116, 118, 120 or 122 S. Lake St., county officials said in early March.

A deeper investigation by the County of Rockland into 118 S. Lake Street revealed the Center for Rockland Codes Investigations had five prior complaint cases for the property from 2015 through 2021.

Under New York State law, 3-family homes and above, commercial, and places of assembly are subject to mandatory inspections, which fall under OBC’s jurisdiction.

Each of the above properties are single or two-family private residences which are not subject to state-mandated inspections.

The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right of the people to be secure in their houses and prohibits the government from entering without a search warrant supported by probable cause. Inspectors were granted access to the above properties with the permission and authority of the tenants, officials said.

County officials urge people to submit complaints of unsafe housing conditions in the Village of Spring Valley to the Office of Buildings and Codes to attempt similar complaint-driven inspections.

The Office of Buildings and Codes requests all interested parties submit complaints in the Village of Spring Valley by calling 845-364-3700 or by emailing BuildingsAndCodes@co.rockland.ny.us.

Rockland Codes Investigations requests all Sanitary Code Violations be reported to 845-364-2585 or by filing a report online.

The Rockland County Department of Health’s Healthy Neighborhoods Program (HNP), opens a pdf file provides free safety outreach, including providing smoke detectors, and education to eligible residents including low-income residents, seniors, and at-risk families.

To schedule a free Healthy Neighborhoods Program home visit, a presentation for your organization, or for more information, please call 845-364-3292 or 845-364-3290.