NY Won't Back Up Its Code-Enforcement Mandate: Rockland County Exec

Editor's Note: Since this article was posted, the New York State Department responded to Patch, saying "The Department of State is not a party to the litigation involving Rockland County and cannot comment on pending litigation." For more, see below.

NEW CITY, NY — Angry that New York State, which required Rockland County to take over code enforcement in Spring Valley, is refusing to join the county's defense of that operation, Rockland County Executive Ed Day wrote a public letter to Secretary of State Robert Rodriguez.

"It is unconscionable and unfathomable for NYDOS to direct the county of Rockland to assume administration and enforcement ... and then decline to support those very functions being challenged by an irresponsible property owner," he said in the letter.

The owners and operators of Country Village Towers in Spring Valley, the apartment building where 90 people were displaced after a fire in March, are suing Rockland County over the 100+ building and safety code violations for which they were issued citations afterward. SEE: Cited After Fire, Landlord Sues Rockland

They're not disputing the violations — instead NBM Management, Weinreb Management, Country Village Towers Corp., and Jacob Weinreb are arguing that the county is wrong to take property owners who don't fix their violations and pay their fines to administrative court.

Secretary Rodriguez's office was asked for comment but had not responded by the time the original version of this article was posted. Later, a spokeswoman said the department was giving Rockland technical assistance and had designated $500,000 in the 2023 budget to support the code enforcement effort.

This is a landlord used to using the courts to prevent or at least postpone having to do work on their properties: Jacob Weinreb and Weinreb Management are at the center of another major lawsuit, this one filed by New York City for 200+ building and fire code violations at 11 properties that include failing to maintain fire escapes, sprinklers, and alarm systems despite repeated citations.

SEE:

• City Sues Controversial UWS Landlord For Fire Safety Violations
• Scaffold Covers Nearly All Of UWS Landlord's Buildings: See It
• Scaffold Covers UWS Building For 15 Years, Residents Say

Country Village Towers had 160+ of the most egregious violations found at a single property by the Office of Building Codes since Rockland launched the state-mandated effort to clean up Spring Valley's troubled code enforcement operation in mid-February.

The fire there broke out March 9, building, trapping people inside and requiring firefighters to rescue a toddler from a seventh-floor apartment. SEE: Apartment House Fire Affects 90 In Spring Valley.

First responders noted the fire alarm system didn't work: no audio or visual alarm had sounded. Then inspectors discovered a lot more. None of the inspected units had smoke alarms in each bedroom, as required, and of all the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms tested nearly all failed, didn't activate, and were outdated. Also:

• No fire extinguishers in hallways (one is required every 75 feet)
• Combustible materials in hallways
• Flammable caulking
• Corroded fire pump
• Exposed wires throughout the building
• Fire doors not closing properly
• No elevator certificate of inspection
• Black mold in several apartments
• Deteriorating stairways and balconies

Many apartments there were illegally converted with living and dining rooms transformed into makeshift bedrooms. SEE: Site Of Apartment Fire Full Of Safety Violations: County

It's more than a year since the Evergreen Court Home for Adults in Spring Valley was destroyed in a massive blaze that killed firefighter Jared Lloyd and 79-year-old resident Oliver Hueston and injured about a dozen people. More than 100 people had to be saved. Lloyd, 35, was rescuing residents. He sent out a Mayday call from an upper floor before it collapsed, but he could not be reached.

A criminal probe into the Evergreen Court fire's origins resulted in the indictment of six people including the then-head of Spring Valley's building department and one of its inspectors. SEE: Village Hall Raided In Investigation Of Fatal Fire.

A day later, the New York State Department of State basically deputized the county to handle code inspections and enforcement for the village, which the state had already been monitoring. A spokeswoman said the department worked with all parties to facilitate an orderly and timely transition of code administration and enforcement responsibilities. The Memorandum of Agreement establishing an Oversight Officer within the Village of Spring Valley terminated at that time.

"Your office designated us to lead this effort, and it is your duty to stand behind the processes necessary to get the job done," Day said in the letter. "It is time to show the families and property owners across the state that New York puts people before profits and lives before landlords."