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Ramapo illegal housing cleanup must continue: JN Letter

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Justin Schwartz

The following letter was published in The Journal News August 2, 2017 — The writer is Rabbi Justin Schwartz, Chairman of the Rockland Illegal Housing Task Force

Re “Ramapo ex-inspector Anthony Mallia gets no jail time, won’t pay restitution in plea deal,” July 31 article:

The Rockland County Illegal Housing Task Forcewas created in response to unlawful and dangerous housing conditions and its goal has always been to eliminate illegal and unsafe housing in Rockland by all legal means. The removal of Anthony Mallia as the chief building inspector of Ramapo and his felony conviction is a step in that direction. [Read more…]

Neighbors force builder to close potential illegal apartments at Viola Estates

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Construction on Viola Road

Photo: John Meore/The Journal News

“Neighbors of the massive Viola Estates housing complex have beaten back a developer’s stealth inclusion of basement space for potential illegal apartments at the Viola Road development across from Ramapo High School.

The agreement reached limited the number of condominiums to the town-approved 44, sealed off outside entrances to basements and removed electrical panels, boilers and other items that could support apartments. [Read more…]

Edwin Gould property owner agrees to terms with county

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The classroom building at the Bais Yaakov Elementary School on the old Edwin Gould Property in Chestnut Ridge (Photo: Mark Vergari/The Journal News

“Owners of the property where a religious school began operating without village approvals in 2016 has come to an agreement with Rockland County over fines, inspections and the use of dormitories.

But the school still lacks approvals and permits as it continues to operate, and the village maintains it should be shuttered until they are granted.

Chestnut Ridge Ventures, the owner of the former Edwin Gould property where Bais Yaakov Elementary School of Rockland County operates, agreed to a $1,000 fine and a timetable to complete inspections, among other things, Rockland Executive Ed Day said in a statement released Monday. [Read more…]

County: Asbestos found at Chestnut Ridge private school

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The classroom building at the Bais Yaakov Elementary School on the old Edwin Gould Property in Chestnut Ridge (Photo: Mark Vergari/The Journal News

“County officials say they found what may be asbestos inside a now-sealed utility closet at the recently opened girls elementary school on the grounds of the former Edwin Gould property.

However, officials said the representatives for the property owner, Chestnut Ridge Ventures, LLC, refused to let an inspector representing the Rockland Health Department sample the material for testing after it was found during a Feb. 2 inspection.

A spokesman for the school and the property owner’s lawyer denied the material found posed a danger to students, faculty and administrators. [Read more…]

Viola condominium developer at it again: Matzav.com

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Construction on Viola Road

Photo: John Meore/The Journal News

This article appeared Jan. 30 on www.matzav.com 

The development has been shut down for months.  But its developer has been quite busy.

After the unprecedented stop work order issued by the Town of Ramapo last October against Viola Estates Condominium on Viola Road – the first such order resulting from neighbors fighting the town’s unrestrained overdevelopment – the developer of Viola Estates got to work. [Read more…]

Chestnut Ridge urges judge to close down school on Edwin Gould site

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The classroom building at the Bais Yaakov Elementary School on the old Edwin Gould Property in Chestnut Ridge (Photo: Mark Vergari/The Journal News

CHESTNUT RIDGE —”The owners of the former Edwin Gould property are being taken to state Supreme Court by the village and county over a school that officials charge opened there without proper inspections and permits.

Village officials asked a state judge on Wednesday to close down the private girls school operating inside a building on the sprawling 145-acre campus along Chestnut Ridge Road, saying it had been operating since early December without those clearances and site plan approval.

“We’ve asked the court to basically close down the school until they comply with our building and zoning regulations,” Mayor Rosario “Sam” Presti said Friday. “Anything and everything that’s been going on there has been done without applying for our permits. We’d like to ensure the building is safe.” [Read more…]

Chestnut Ridge private school lacks permits

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Entrance to Edwin Gould Property

The gated entrance to the Bais Yaakov Elementary School of Rockland County, a private girls school on the old Edwin Gould Property in Chestnut Ridge. Photo: Mark Vergari/The Journal News

“A private elementary school for girls on the grounds of the former Edwin Gould property opened last month without permits and is not in compliance with zoning and fire code regulations, according to village officials. [Read more…]

Ramapo nears breaking point

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Front Page of The Journal News Sunday Jan. 8, 2017

On Sunday, The Journal News devoted its entire front section to an examination of the accelerating, crushing growth in the Town of Ramapo. The cautionary lead on the front page was followed by six feature articles in section one, all dealing with the growing crisis in a town with uncontrolled development, a collapsing tax base, and top-level administrators busy working on their legal defenses against scores of federal charges. The dry rot resulting from endemic political corruption threatens the entire community.

The six features in section one are divided by six separate themes:

“It’s Ramapo’s lack of zoning and safety code enforcement, not religion, that has encouraged development chaos and divided the town. [Read more…]

Resident fights Ramapo law allowing schools without final approval

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Peter Katz Photo: John Meore/ The Journal News

Peter Katz has become the first Ramapo resident to take the town to court for permitting the conversion of a single-family house into a school without approved site plans and other permits.

Katz argues in his legal action that Chief Building Inspector Anthony Mallia arbitrarily issued a temporary building permit for Congregation Yeshiva Zera Yakov to open a school at 101 Carlton Road and the Ramapo Zoning Board of Appeals incorrectly upheld Mallia’s decision as valid under town zoning law. [Read more…]

State shows up 13 years late

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New York Department of State

The headline in last Monday’s The Journal News read “Ramapo: State’s powers over building, fire inspections detailed.” Ramapo and Spring Valley now have State watchdogs “assigned to monitor the Ramapo Building Department [with] access to department records and [the power to] direct inspectors to address critical threats to life and public safety.” A proper subhead for the story could have been: “It’s about time.” The effort by local firefighters to get someone to step in and enforce the fire code regulations in the Town of Ramapo has been going on, literally, for decades. Standing in the way have been the federally indicted Christopher St. Lawrence, the Ramapo Town Board, and the bloc vote that keeps all of them in Town Hall.

To understand this sorry legacy of neglect requires a brief review of the history of tension between fire officials and numerous Ramapo and State politicians. [Read more…]