Taking On 'Ground Zero For Illegal Housing' In Rockland County

NEW CITY, NY — The challenges of working for the past 12 months to do work the Village of Spring Valley had neglected for years were many, Rockland County Executive Ed Day and Office of Buildings & Codes Director Ed Markunas said Tuesday in an update on the county's unprecedented assignment.

"It was a near-insurmountable mission taking on code enforcement in a village best described as ground-zero for illegal housing problems in our county," Day said.

The New York State Department of State ordered the take-over, which went into effect Feb. 14, 2022 with a moratorium on new permits.

The order, the first of its kind in New York, came after the 2021 fatal fire at the Evergreen Court Home for Adults. The converted 1903 hotel in Spring Valley was destroyed in a massive blaze in 2021 that killed firefighter Jared Lloyd and 79-year-old resident Oliver Hueston and injured about a dozen people. As the state's Public Service Commission noted in January:

... review of subpoenaed documents from Rockland County and the Village of Spring Valley highlighted a history of building and fire code violations at the Evergreen Facility, dating back to the 1960’s, including faults in the fire suppression systems, inadequate evacuation infrastructure such as emergency lights and fire escapes, and unlicensed contractors performing plumbing and construction work. Further, the Village of Spring Valley was unable to produce records more recent than 2016. During its review of the documents that were produced, Staff observed instances of unresolved violations or recurring violations. These findings seem to indicate serious issues with local building and fire code compliance, a lack of proper code enforcement and oversight, and inadequate record keeping on the part of the Village of Spring Valley ...

"We are literally trying to correct decades of mismanagement ... and neglect of the New York State Uniform Code in the village, and we remind everyone this is not something that will not be fixed overnight," Day said in a news conference livestreamed on Facebook and posted on YouTube.

Since launching an entirely new office in county government in 90 days, the OBC has faced multiple challenges.

Right off the bat, officials discovered the master list of village properties provided by the administration was inaccurate and incomplete. It took the staff two months to unravel the tangle to get a true list of all the parcels in Spring Valley, Markunas said. Other challenges have included:

• Creating an administrative court for hearings
• Building an interim record-keeping system
• Developing internal processes for issuing violation notices
• Recreating a new property master list over the course of two months
• Replacing contracted Spring Valley building and fire inspectors

The office took on most of the village's code inspectors.

"But unfortunately, all those inspectors have since been removed from participating and returned to the village because they were not adhering to the policies and procedures of this administration nor the strict enforcement of New York State Building Code," Markunas said.

844 properties have been inspected. All had multiple violations except for one — a firehouse, Day said. OBC is discovering an average of 10 violations per property in Spring Valley, while other municipalities typically discover one or two violations per property, Day said, five- to tenfold over the county average.

"The biggest challenge came with the inspections, because every property we entered had not one or two but multiple violations," he said, showing photos of illegal and dangerous conditions found during the past year, including a collapsed entrance porch, a twisted main beam in an apartment building, the rotted floor of an unlawful preschool in a trailer without a certificate of occupancy, illegal basement apartments — one with a load-bearing beam that had been cut — a two-family home converted to a 6-family complex, and more.

"Despite all the hurdles, we’re on track to complete 3-years’ worth of inspections in 2 years … a year ahead of schedule," Day said.

This year the focus is on re-inspections and the safety of first responders, Markunas said. "We come across new violations every day."

About 7,500 violations were issued on those inspections and a quarter of a million dollars levied in fines.

Local governments and local property owners need to follow the law, Day said. "Anything less is putting profit before people, which is an utter disgrace."

"What this Office of Building & Codes is doing is saving lives," Day said. "With everything that we’ve encountered in this village, I cannot tell you how we’ve dodged countless bullets. If this doesn’t change at the local level, it’s only a matter of time before we see another tragedy like the Evergreen Court fire."

He said state and village officials have begun conversations about returning control of its building department, but that NYSDOS has not provided details as to what specific circumstances will be necessary.

The problems in Spring Valley persisted and worsened despite a state-appointed monitor, Day pointed out.

"I want our residents to know that we understand and share your frustration. Illegal housing is a major problem, and in this village it’s at near-crisis level," Day said. "The sad reality is enforcement is only a Band-Aid. It's not solving the true cause of this issue. It is up to those we elect to local office to make sure development is happening properly, responsibly, and safely."

He pointed out that while the county has about 200,000 active registered voters, only about 25 percent voted in 2021 local races for town supervisors, mayors, trustees, and court justices while 75 percent turned out for the last presidential election.

"Voting for our nation’s leader certainly has value but voting for the officials making decisions that affect your daily life and wellbeing has even more value," Day said. "These are the races and the people making decisions that impact your homes, your families, your schools, and your taxes. If you don’t like the choices being made on behalf of your community, then vote for candidates who will get it done right."

OBC only has authority to enforce building and fire codes in the Village of Spring Valley, which was specially granted by New York State. The public can submit complaints within the village to 845-364-3700 or by email to BuildingsandsCodes@co.rockland.ny.us.

SEE ALSO:

• Rockland Puts Spring Valley Inspectors Through Hours Of Training
• Site Of Apartment Fire Full Of Safety Violations: County
• Enforcement Office Finds 19 Violations At 2 Rockland Businesses
• Rockland Reports 24 Living In Squalid, Hazardous House
• Building Inspector Accused Of Lying On County Job Applications
• Rockland's New Codes Office Targets Illegal, Unsafe Nightclub
• Rockland: 30-Day Moratorium On Spring Valley Building Permits
• Lawmakers Finalize Rockland Takeover Of Village Code Enforcement
• Village Hall Raided In Investigation Of Fatal Fire