Fire Captain Says Local Yeshivas Unsafe: VIDEO

Spring Valley Fire Captain talked to the East Ramapo Board of Education this week about unsafe conditions in local nonpublic schools, a situation he said is being ignored by the people running the village, town and school district.

He noted that as the meeting began, officials pointed out the fire exits to the audience.

“That’s how it should be,” he said.

He said he was speaking in the wake of a fatal fire that morning in an illegal apartment building.

SEE: Fatal Fire in Central Nyack under Investigation

He also noted that the Department of State has advised the town of the New York State Education Department finding that nonpublic schools in Ramapo have not filed annual fire inspections required by Education law 807-a and are considered non-compliant.

And he added that newly appointed NYSED Commissioner Mary Ellen Elia wrote in August to Secretary of State Perales for his assistance in addressing the serious concerns about the health and safety of the students of the nonpublic schools, as well as raising questions about the accuracy of the annual fire safety inspections submitted by those very same schools.

Still nothing has been done, he said.

Community officials, including members of the school board who also have links to other local governing bodies, have “allowed outrageous conditions,” he said. Nonpublic school students are crammed into illegal, unsafe, allegedly temporary trailers. Single family homes and apartments used as schools are rife with health, safety and sanitary problems. Not up to code, they endanger not only the kids but emergency responders, he said.

About 60 schools have been identified by the state Education Department as not having fire safety inspections on file (see list below).

“It’s a shame that so many children have to pay the penalty for the sins of the adults,” Schwartz said.

East Ramapo’s community contains about 24,000 nonpublic students, most of them ultra-orthodox Jews educated in yeshivas.

According to the Rockland County News, the state, which earlier this year cited the community for failing to meet minimum standards for building permits, construction inspections, and certificates of occupancy and for faiing to conduct mandated annual fire safety inspections, issued an order Oct. 6 setting deadlines for Spring Valley to comply with state laws.

The town of Ramapo was cited for the same things in January, including not keeping code enforcement records.

However, John Kryger, the chairman of Rockland County’s Illegal Housing Task Force, called it another stalling tactic, according to media site failedmessiah.com.

Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski has been fighting for state action over the unsafe private schools for years.

In 2014 he introduced legislation to require non-public schools to provide documentation that they are operating in a safe environment or lose the taxpayer funding that subsidizes them for things such as transportation, textbooks, computers and nurse services.

“We need to ensure that these schools which receive taxpayer dollars are educating students in a safe and code compliant building,” he said at the time.

The legislation called for all non-public schools to be required provide the State Education Department with copies of certificate of incorporation, certificate of occupancy, recent fire inspection, maximum occupancy and other non-public schools at the address. It did not pass.

Board president Yehuda Weissmandl, who was not present during Schwartz’s presentation, issued a statement afterward, the Rockland County News reported. It included this:

This matter is not something we have the authority to address directly. In fact, it is not within our public school jurisdiction.

Nevertheless, we take the matter very seriously. We will convey the specific concerns expressed at the meeting to appropriate local authorities, namely code enforcement officials.

State Education Department list of nonpublic schools in Rockland County missing fire inspection reports:

AH Schreiber Hebrew Academy of Rockland at 360 New Hempstead Rd. in New City

Ateres Bias Yaakov Acad of Rockland at 236 Cherry Lane in Monsey

Bais Chinuch L’Bonois at 900 Route 45 in New City

Bais Shifra Miriam at 229 Maple Ave. in Monsey

Bais Trany of Monsey at 185 N. Main St. in Spring Valley

Bais Yaakov Ayeles Hashachnar at 186 Saddle River Rd. in Monsey

Bais Yaakov Chofetz Chaim-Pomona at 44 Camp Hill Rd. in Pomona

Bais Yaakov D’Rav Hirsch at 235 N. Main St. in Spring Valley

Bais Yaakov High School of Spring Valley at 11 Smolley Drive in Monsey

Baie Yaakov of Ramapo at 16 Herschel Terrace in Monsey

Bais Yehuda at 72 Main St. in Monsey

Bnei Yakov Yosef of Monsey at 23 Union Rd. in Spring Valley

Bnos Chayil at 141 Blauvelt Rd. in Monsey

Bnos Esther Pupa at 246 N. Main St. in Spring Valley

Bobover Yeshiva of Monsey at 88 Grove St. in Spring Valley

Cheder Chabad of Monsey at 15 Widman Court in Spring Valley

Community Enrichment Center at 9 Zeissner Lane in Spring Valley

Con Kolel Chasidel Rachminstrivka at 97 Highview Rd. in Suffern

Cong Machzikei Hadas of Belz at 3 N. Cole Ave. in Spring Valley

Cong Yeshiva of Greater Monsey at 133 Route 59 in Monsey

Congre Machon Tiferes Bachurim at 17 Cameo Ridge Road in Monsey

Congregation Bais Chana Maika at 185 N. Main Street in Spring Valley

Congregation Birchos Yosef at 201 Route 306 in Monsey

Congregation Borov lnc. at 246 N. Main St. in Spring Valley

Congregation Koifer Nefesh at 70 Highview Monsey

Congregation Mesilla at 73 Main St. in Monsey

Congregation Noam E. Lisenk at 100 S. Central Ave. in Nanuet

Congregation Ohr Yilzchok at 174 Maple Ave. in Monsey

Congregation Tiferes Yisroel at 240 Old Nyack Turnpike in Spring Valley

Congregation Yeshivas Meon Hatorah at 244 Route 306 in Monsey

Hebrew Academy-Ohr Menachem Chabad at 315 N. Main St. in New City

lmrei Shufer at 186 Saddle River Rd. in Monsey

Mesivta Ahavas Hatorah at 240 Old Nyack Turnpike in Spring Valley

Mesivta Maamar Mordechai at 113 Maple Ave. in Spring Valley

Mesvita of Yeshiva D’Monsey at 14 Roman Boulevard in Monsey

Meisda Ziev Halorah at 50 Carlton Rd. in Monsey

Monsey Beis Chaya Mushka High School at 25-27 South Monsey Rd. in Monsey

Mosdos Sanz Klausenburg of Monsey at 5 Gibbs Court in Monsey

Mosdos Sanz of Monsey at 50 Slinn Avenue in Spring Valley

Pascack Valley Learning Center at 27 Church Road in Airmont

Rockland lnstitute for Special Children at 972 Chestnut Ridge Road in Spring Valley

Rockland Jewish Academy at 450 W. Nyack Road in West Nyack

Shaarei Arazim of Monsey at 52 S. Main Street in Spring Valley

Shaarei Torah of Rockland at 91 W. Carlton Rd. in Suffern

The Skill Building Center at 15 Widman Court in Spring Valley

St. Dominic’s Home at 500 Western Highway in Blauvelt

Talmud Torah Bobov 49 S. Main Street at Spring Valley

Talmud Torah Khal Adas Yereim 33 Union Road in Spring Valley

UTA 89 S. Main St Spring Valley

Yeshiva Avir Yaakov at 766 N. Main St. in Spring Valley

Yeshiva Bais Hachinuch 50 S. Main St. in Spring Valley

Yeshiva Darchei Noam at 257 Grandview Ave. in Suffern

Yeshiva’Darkei Emunah at 49 S. Main St. in Spring Valley

Yeshiva DegelHatorah at 111 Maple Ave. in Spring Valley

Yeshiva Gedolah of South Monsey at 260 Saddle River in Airmont

Yeshiva Hlgh School of Monsey at 91 Gotlege Rd. in Monsey

Yeshiva Ohr Torah at 201 Route 306 in Monsey

Yeshiva Shaar Ephraim at 5 Acer Court in Monsey

Yeshiva T zoin Yosef at 15 Widman Court in Spring Valley

Yeshivas Ohr Reuven at 259 Grandview Ave. in Suffern