Evergreen Court Home's Owners Plan To Rebuild

SPRING VALLEY, NY — The owners of the Evergreen Court Home for Adults, where two people died during a massive fire that destroyed the 100-year-old former hotel nearly two years ago, are planning to rebuild.

Meanwhile, they are about to temporarily shut two other local facilities, New Golden Acres in Spring Valley and the New Village View in Highland, under separate settlements with the New York State Department of Health over ongoing health and safety violations and several court cases.

"The New York State Department has issued Stipulated and Orders for New Golden Home for Adults and New Village View to shut down and relocate residents beginning at in late February so that the facilities can be renovated to the Department’s satisfaction," said Jeffrey Hammond, a spokesman for the health department. "Every resident will have the option of choosing whether they want to return to either of the facilities because they are to be given a preference upon admission. The Department's approvals for the facilities' future operation will also be contingent on the ongoing sustained correction of their pending violations."

After the fatal conflagration at Evergreen Court, the New York Health Department started a process to have the operating certificate revoked. However, its owners, Joseph Schonberger, Steven Schonberger, Philip Schonberger and Jeffrey Schonberger, took the state to court.

According to a settlement reached in August, the family and the department dropped legal action against each other and the department suspended the operating certificate. The owners agreed to submit plans for a new 200-bed adult home with an assisted living program and the department promised to review them expeditiously.

"Regarding Evergreen, the Department has agreed to accept an application for construction of a new facility, which must be completed within 30 months of Department’s approval of the operator’s plans. Evergreen hasn’t submitted a plan yet," Hammond said.

In the settlement, the owners agreed once Evergreen Court has reopened to retain the services of a qualified consultant approved by the Department, to oversee that they maintain compliance in each area and system of the facility’s operation for a period of two years.

Non-compliance had been an ongoing problem. Last week, the state Public Service Commission released a report on water pressure issues during the Evergreen Court fire which pointed that out:

Staff’s review of subpoenaed documents from Rockland County and the Village of Spring Valley highlighted a history of building and fire code violations at the Evergreen Facility, dating back to the 1960’s, including faults in the fire suppression systems, inadequate evacuation infrastructure such as emergency lights and fire escapes, and unlicensed contractors performing plumbing and construction work. Further, the Village of Spring Valley was unable to produce records more recent than 2016.During its review of the documents that were produced, Staff observed instances of unresolved violations or recurring violations. These findings seem to indicate serious issues with local building and fire code compliance, a lack of proper code enforcement and oversight, and inadequate record keeping on the part of the Village of Spring Valley, which may be the subject of other ongoing investigations.

The report also succinctly laid out the apparent cause of the fire, which killed a resident and a firefighter: "the reckless and unpermitted use of a blow torch with a 20-pound propane tank and the use and conveyance of multiple large shovelfuls of hot burning coals into the facility during a ritual cleansing in preparation for an upcoming religious holiday conducted in the Evergreen Facility’s dairy kitchen ultimately which caused a fire to build within the wall and ceiling above the kitchen, erupting into 'a raging inferno' and spreading to adjacent portions of the facility."

Resident Oliver Hueston, 79, and firefighter Jared Lloyd, 35, died. Lloyd, who repeatedly entered the building and rescued residents, sent out a Mayday call from an upper floor before it collapsed, but he could not be reached.

The rabbis who performed the ritual cleansing and two of Spring Valley's building and safety codes officials face criminal charges connected to the fire.

SEE ALSO:

• State Reports On Problems At Fatal Nursing Home Fire
• Sons Of Evergreen Court Resident File Lawsuit Over Death
• Probes Continue 1 Year After Fatal Adult Home Fire
• Adult Home Fire: Manslaughter, Arson, False Report Charges