Hofstein Says that Rockland Could Lose Sain Building Buyer

NEW CITY, NY — Rockland County Legislator Lon Hofstein, R-New City, is warning his fellow lawmakers that time is running out on the proposed sale of the Sain Building.

“If we don’t take action now, the only party that has made a commitment to purchase this property will move on,” Hofstein said in a press release. “It is in the best interests of the taxpayers of Rockland County for us to move forward with this sale.”

The sale of the building is a focal point of the enmity between Chairman Alden Wolfe and County Executive Ed Day.

Both sides say they want it sold. But the lawmakers refused to act last year when one company showed interest, saying proper procedures had not been followed. Day had included the proceeds from the sale in his 2016 operating budget and froze spending when it was blocked. Now the legislature has included proceeds from the sale in their version of the 2017 budget, which Day says is irresponsible since they've been blocking it.

Meanwhile, the company that has expressed interest has sent an email to Hofstein warning that his company has decided to look at other alternatives due to the lack of progress, according to Lawrence Garvey of the Rockland GOP.

Garvey said Michael Glynn of National Development took the action after Wolfe failed to allow a vote Tuesday on a measure proposed by Hofstein to declare the county-owned property surplus and sell it.

Before the end of the last meeting of the legislature, and after the amended budget was voted on, Hofstein brought up under "New Business" a resolution to declare the property "surplus" which is a required step before an asset can be sold, Garvey said. In addition, he presented a resolution to sell the property. It should be noted that for a resolution to be placed on the agenda as "New Business" it should be considered a topic of urgency.

Garvey said upon hearing the request, Wolfe responded, "I have a liberal point of view on what I consider an emergency but in my opinion this is not one of those times."

The lawmakers'2017 budget plan commits to selling the Sain building, with an estimated revenue of at least $4.5 million, and designates that the proceeds be used for deficit reduction.

Day said that the proposal to declare it surplus and sell it was a glimmer of hope.

But Garvey said the Legislature has failed to place the sale on any committee agenda for the coming week.

"Why are the members of the majority counting on this revenue and then blocking the sale?” Hofstein said.

Wolfe said that was not at all the case.

"This is yet another in a long history of attempts by Hofstein to bypass the committee process by seeking a waiver of our rules," he said in an email. "The request was inconsistent with our rules because there was no governmental emergency or time constraint demonstrated. He didn't even have a physical copy of a resolution ready for us to vote on.

"Our budget contemplates a sale of the Sain building in 2017. It's up to the CE to decide if he's going to keep it in the budget or not. If he does, then I expect that we'll discuss the resolutions necessary to move the process forward in committee."

National Development has twice offered $4.51 million to buy the deteriorating building at 18 New Hempstead Road. The amount exceeds the appraised value by $510,000. It is the only entity to express interest in the property.

The company wants to tear down the existing building and erect housing designed for assisted living for seniors. It would provide much needed housing options for residents who want to age in the community as well as provide a tax revenue for the Town of Clarkstown, the Clarkstown Central School District, and the county, Hofstein said.

Clarkstown Town Supervisor George Hoehmann has come before the legislature and expressed his full endorsement of the project, Hofstein said.

But Hoehmann has many political enemies in the legislature.

County employees who now work in the Sain building would be relocated to a county-owned complex in Pomona, which has plenty of vacant space and provides a safer working environment, Holstein said.

“Everybody wins with this deal,” Hofstein said. “It’s absurd to allow politics and petty personal differences to get in the way of doing the people’s business."

SEE ALSO:

• Sain Building Sale Delay Latest Spat Between Day, Wolfe
  
• Bid on Sain Building is Actually No Bid, Say Rockland Lawmakers
  
• Rockland Lawmakers Amend 2017 Budget Plan
  
• Op-Ed: An Open Letter to the Rockland County Legislature

PHOTO: Sain Building/ Rockland County