New Report Shows NY Code Enforcement 'Hellscape' In The HV

Firefighters and tenants are endangered, as is the quality of life in whole neighborhoods, if officials do not start enforcing building and fire codes, says Senator James Skoufis. A new State Senate report on code enforcement in New York concludes that the state's rules are watered down, mis-used or completely ignored at the local level.

As specific examples, the 106-page report uses four Hudson Valley communities. And it holds one Hudson Valley program up as a model for the state: Rockland County's Code Initiative.

"Local governments are failing to protect their residents, and the State is disregarding its obligations to assist in code enforcement. Bad actors are preying on vulnerable populations, and the current system is failing to stop their reckless behavior," the report summarized.

The investigative report from the Committee on Investigations & Government Operations, which Skoufis chairs, and the Senate's Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development, identifies common shortfalls, recommends sweeping legislative and regulatory changes, and urges both municipalities and the state to take code enforcement more seriously.

“My hope is that this report shines a light on how important this issue is, and quite frankly, gives a kick in the ass for officials to do a better job,” Skoufis told NBC's I-Team.

Key findings include:

• Inadequate training for code enforcement personnel;
• Inadequate record keeping for tracking code cases;
• Insufficient penalties for violations;
• Difficulties associated with properties owned by LLCs;
• Persistent vacant and abandoned buildings;
• An upsurge in illegally converted properties;
• Excessive delays and adjournments of cases; and
• An overall lack of resources and support available to assist code enforcement programs

The dangers are real, the report said, "in 2011, firefighters were called to a smoke-filled single family home in Haverstraw, Rockland County, which was illegally converted to a rooming house. A disoriented firefighter ran out of air, and had to issue a mayday call. Fortunately, fellow firefighters were able to use a thermal imaging device to locate him before it was too late. The owner of the rooming house had been issued a violation two weeks before the fire."

The Hudson Valley is Skoufis' stomping ground (his district, the 39th, covers northeast Rockland and eastern Orange County). But that's not why the investigators kept their deep dive in the region, looking at Albany, Newburgh, Ramapo and Mount Vernon, instead of choosing communities across the state.

Rather it's because the Uniform Code enforcement problems were different in each place and provided good examples of the range of problems investigators heard about everywhere, said Jessica Gulotta, a Skoufis spokeswoman.

"This investigation has demonstrated that one reason many New Yorkers are living in poor quality housing is the failure at all levels of government to ensure effective enforcement of housing, building, and fire codes,” said Senator Brian Kavanagh, Chair of the Senate Committee on Housing, Construction, and Community Development.

The state was faulted for failing to meet its training obligations. Plus, since 1991, funds collected from insurance companies to be used for code enforcement have not been distributed to local governments, even though the fees which feed the fund are still being collected, the report said.

As the probe progressed, the investigative team said its members witnessed marked improvements in the code enforcement activities of the municipalities it was checking. In several, open code cases that stretched months, even years, were adjudicated immediately. Properties that were abandoned for months were placarded and vacated. Noticeable violations that were previously ignored were addressed. Most notably, the City of Newburgh, for the first time in a decade, issued warrants against a landlord regarding open violations.

Skoufis said he considers the Town of Ramapo in Rockland County the "worst offender" because its disregard for code enforcement is deliberate and systemic. Its "unchecked expansion has led to dubious building and construction practices, including converting single- and two-family homes into multiple dwelling units without the requisite permits," the report said.

Ramapo, with a population of 136,848, has eight full-time code enforcement officials.

The report found that illegal conversions continue despite the two years when the New York Department of State installed a monitor after declaring in 2016 that the town did not reach minimum standards for code enforcement. (Not to be confused with the Department of Education's monitor installed in the Ramapo school district.)

Skoufis called Mount Vernon's code enforcement a "hellscape" and said the situation was outrageous.

Mount Vernon has had just one working code enforcement officer for its 67,593 residents for the past several years. And there's much more, all tied to the continual chaos at City Hall.

There was a second code enforcement officer. He had been suspended for two years with pay by the mayor who was just ousted in disgrace. That code officer was recently brought back — by one of the two competing mayors recently named by the City Council (and arguing about legitimacy).

The city had hired a private firm to run the building department and paid it $500,000 for a year's work, according to The Journal News. That firm is again working for the city doing a pay-to-play procedure, "one of several firms made available to property owners for expedited plan review at a higher cost than the regular permit fee," wrote TJN reporter Jonathan Bandler.

There are two building commissioners, one fired last week by one of the dueling mayors who appointed a replacement. The possibly-fired building commissioner has a pending DWI charge and a suspended license. He also had a meltdown in City Hall when the city Comptroller refused to pay a vendor (a common occurrence).

Newburgh has four full time building/code inspectors for a city of 28,164 people. One of its biggest problems is that the software officials are using cannot adequately track and analyse code enforcement information.

Albany, with a population of of 97,280, has 13 full-time code enforcement officers. Albany requires that rental units be registered, with contact information for people in charge, even if the owner or agent is an LLC. The owner of a vacant building is also required to pay an annual fee for the period the building remains vacant. But Albany only addresses illegal conversions when they are in known rental properties, not when they are in homes that are owner-occupied.

Across the board, "The municipalities are plagued with habitual violators who can afford the meager penalties imposed," the investigators said.

The report singled out Rockland County for its four-year-old initiative to fix code-enforcement problems, writing, “those counties who wish to become more involved in the protection of their residents and first responders [should] follow the lead of Rockland County, which established the Rockland Codes Initiative to protect the health, property, and quality of life for all county residents through the enforcement of health and sanitary codes.”

RCI by the numbers since May 2015:

• 5,305 complaints made.
• 22,225 inspections performed.
• 28,279 violations issued.
• $1,701,033 worth of fines issued.

County Executive Ed Day was pleased by the recognition.

“Rockland County has been pushing back against lackadaisical or outright corrupt code enforcement for years; launching the Rockland Codes Initiative (RCI) in 2015 to correct dangerous and disgusting conditions that were often found all across our County,” Day said. “The program itself is simple. Residents can make complaints through our confidential website or call them in. Once a complaint is made, inspectors from the Department of Health visit the location. They look for conditions that violate the Sanitary Code; conditions like unsafe and overcrowded housing.”

Any complaints — from tenants, neighbors or people who drive by — are kept confidential. The complaint form is online.

PHOTO CAPTION: The report cites 238. N. Pascack Road in Ramapo, an illegal conversion listed as a single-family home, with problems including no heat throughout house; open wire connection and exposed wires in garage; no smoke detectors; and no shower-heads (tenants use buckets to bathe). 34 code violations were issued. The RCI still has the property on its watchlist as of Aug. 9, 2019.

SEE ALSO:

• Rockland Firefighters, Officials Call for State to Intervene
• Rockland County Reports Progress Taking on Slumlords