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Ramapo and Mount Vernon demonstrate the dire need for stronger building code enforcement

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Senator James Skoufis
Photo: Carucha L. Meuse/ The Journal News

The Journal News  “Senate probe of New York’s building codes zeroes in on two municipalities with terrible reputations: Mount Vernon, where a lone inspector handles the entire city, and Ramapo, where lax enforcement has led volunteer firefighters and the County of Rockland to step in.

“The key takeaway from this investigation is that there has been a systematic failure to adequately prioritize code enforcement at all levels of government,” said state Sen. James Skoufis, who leads the Senate Committee on Investigations and Government Operations.

He said his panel’s seven-month deep dive looked at “what is working, what is not working and where we need to focus on prioritization of code enforcement in the State of New York.”

And Mount Vernon and Ramapo were repeatedly cited in the report for failures.  [Read more…]

Rockland marks 4th year of housing crackdown, focusing on cleanup violations

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“As Rockland County government marked the fourth year of its crackdown on slum housing, Jennifer Rivera said Friday that she pays $520 a month rent for a tiny bedroom inside a rundown, violation-plagued house on Fairview Avenue.

As Health Department inspectors walked through the house with hopes of forcing the landlord to clean it up, Rivera said she and 11 other people live with rats, mice, and other animals entering though the attic and wood flooring softened by moisture.

Inspectors have cited the manager/owner Moshe Landau for 48 violations of the county sanitary code, including operation of an illegal boarding house, exposed piping and wires, mold and chipped paint, and garbage on the front lawn.” [Read more…]

State hearing rips Ramapo for lackluster code, fire safety enforcement

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Gordon Wren inspecting housing

Gordon Wren Jr. Photo: Ricky Flores/The Journal News

“Ramapo officials and state code watchdogs came under criticism Thursday for lackluster enforcement and bending to special interests during a state Senate hearing in Newburgh.

Gordon Wren Jr., the county’s retired emergency services coordinator who chairs the grassroots watchdog group CUPON Rockland, led the critique along with state Assemblyman Kenneth Zebrowski, and, to a lesser degree, Rockland Deputy Health Commissioner Catherine Johnson Southern, who oversees enforcement of the county sanitary code under the Rockland Codes Initiative.

The hearing was held in Newburgh Armory before the Senate’s Investigations and Government Operations Committee, which is chaired by Democrat James Skoufis, whose district includes Stony Point and Haverstraw. [Read more…]

Airmont: Judge tosses Hasidic congregation’s legal action against village

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Congregation’s legal action against Airmont is dismissed by state judge

“An acting state judge rejected an Orthodox Jewish congregation’s legal action claiming Airmont violated its own zoning laws involving a synagogue hit with violations during a village wide building moratorium.

Mayor Philip Gigante applauded the village’s vindication in state Supreme Court, as he also has denied allegations made in two separate federal lawsuits claiming the village discriminates against Orthodox and Hasidic Jews.

The congregation’s legal action – called an Article 78 – has nothing to do with the two civil rights lawsuits. [Read more…]

Ramapo delays closing yeshiva despite getting court order

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“Even after a state judge signed the town’s request to close down an illegal Route 306 private school, officials are delaying a closure to allow administrators to legalize the school.

State Supreme Court Justice Paul Marx signed an order closing Congregation Bais Chinuch Ateres Bnos at 261 Route 306 pending a certificate of occupancy needed to legally operate classes for more than 300 girls. [Read more…]

Chestnut Ridge: Lawsuit ends, synagogue vs. garage debate remains

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Hilda Kogut of Chestnut Ridge CUPON Photo: Peter Carr/The Journal News

“Neighbors are infuriated by the dismissal of a lawsuit over a three-car garage they claim is a being used as a synagogue.

A lawsuit filed by the religious educational center has been dropped with the village’s support that challenged a Zoning Board Appeals ruling voiding the building inspector’s original certificate of occupancy for the structure on Spring Hill Terrace. [Read more…]

Chestnut Ridge Zoning Board revokes certificate of occupancy for garage used as synagogue

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3-car Garage at 3 Spring Hill Terrace

Monday night at a meeting of the Chestnut Ridge Zoning Board of Appeals (Jan. 29), the board voted 5-0 to revoke the C/O (certificate of occupancy) that had been granted by the Village’s building inspector to an oversized, two-story 3-car garage at 3 Spring Hill Terrace. This was the second meeting about the garage, and both sessions lasted almost three hours and had to be held at the Chestnut Ridge Middle School due to an overflow of those attending. The difficulty of arriving at a conclusion was not due to the facts but rather a Catch 22 in the state’s zoning law. [Read more…]

Kaser: Fire-damaged trailer sits on same property with Village Hall

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Trailer on Kaser Village Hall property

A fire broke out in a group of trailers across from the Kaser Village Hall at 15 Elyon Road early Sunday morning. The unattached trailers, village hall and attached boy’s school are on the same fenced-in property. (Photo: Rochel Leah Goldblatt/lohud)

“A Sunday-morning fire in trailers that raised questions among fire officials occurred on the same property as a yeshiva and Kaser Village Hall.

The property belongs to congregation Khal Torath Chaim, according to Ramapo town property records. The Village Hall rents an office from the yeshiva, Kaser Deputy Village Clerk Binyomin Mermelstein said. [Read more…]

Chestnut Ridge: Neighbors say 3-car garage operates as a synagogue

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View of the interior of the the three car garage on Spring Hill Terrace in Chestnut Ridge

Inside the 3-car garage at 3 Spring Hill terrace in Chestnut Ridge (Photo submitted)

NOTE: A special meeting of the Zoning Board of appeals will address the matter in today’s JN story–Meeting is Monday, December 18, 2017, 7:30 PM Please note Meeting will take place at the Chestnut Ridge Middle School Auditorium, 892 Chestnut Ridge Rd, Chestnut Ridge NY 

“When is a garage not used to house cars? Neighbors of a Spring Hill Terrace property say when the garage is a synagogue.

While the congregation denies holding services in the three-car garage, neighbors are asking the village zoning board of appeals to revoke the structure’s certificate of occupancy and issue a stop work order.

“They lied,” Hilda Kogut said Friday, standing with neighbor Carole Goodman on a chilly morning outside the house owned by the Brooklyn-based Kedishas Aharon D’Hadas. “This is a shul, not a three-car garage. We kept telling the village what’s going on there. The village is turning a blind eye.” [Read more…]

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…]