Ramapo Disciplines Fire Inspector

PHOTO: Adam Peltz/LinkedIn

Peltz, the fire inspector in Ramapo accused by state officials of not doing his job, has been disiciplined by the Town Board.

He was demoted to assistant fire inspector--with the concomitant loss in salary--and up to a 60-day suspension, The Journal News reported.

The measures town officials took weren't enough, said State Sen. David Carlucci.

"Tonight we learned the outcome of the investigation into Ramapo Fire Inspector Adam Peltz and the sanctions he will receive," Carlucci (D-Rockland/Westchester) said in a prepared statement. "I believe that given the seriousness of the charges against Adam Peltz the best course of action would have been for him to be relieved of his position and responsibilities. However, it does no good punishing one man if the Town does not reform how it ensures the safety of students in private schools. If the Town cannot fulfill its obligation to keep private school students safe, the County or State must step in to do so. Our children are our most precious resource that we must protect,"

Some firefighters and elected officials have complained for years about unsafe conditions that violate building and fire codes in many of the private schools in the county, and particular those in Ramapo.

In March the state focused on four schools which they actually visited: the Rockland Institute for Special Education, Bais Yaakov, Green Meadow Waldorf, and Bais Yehuda.

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What they found is what State Assemblyman Kenneth Zebrowski called "a blatant example of the pervasive lack of code enforcement in Ramapo that I have been talking about for over two years."

Zebrowski announced Wednesday that he introduced legislation to address a shortcoming in state law that became apparent with the Peltz case. The legislation would establish a process for the Secretary of State to investigate misconduct and revoke the code enforcement certificate where a code enforcement official was found to have failed to note serious violations on an inspection report.

Now, the state can only revoke a certification if the official does not meet the training requirements.

Peltz isn't the only beleaguered official in Ramapo. Two town officials face federal fiscal fraud charges; and four face charges from the SEC.

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