Day Pens Letter Bemoaning Lack of Support In Lawsuit
Rockland County Executive Ed Day penned the following letter to the government of New York State bemoaning the lack of support given in a lawsuit against an irresponsible landlord.
To Secretary of State Robert J. Rodriguez:
I am sure youโre aware that on February 1st, as required by the Secretary of Stateโs Designation and Order of November 17, 2021, the Rockland County Legislature passed a local law to assume the enforcement and administration of the Uniform Code in the Village of Spring Valley that included the creation of administrative tribunals to adjudicate these cases.
On May 10, 2022, several entities accused of building and fire code violations brought a temporary restraining order against this administrative tribunal. That lawsuit is currently subject to a motion to dismiss made by the County. ๐๐ซ๐ข๐จ๐ซ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒโ๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง, ๐ฐ๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ค ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ง ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐, ๐จ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ซ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง, ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ซ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ง๐ข๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ง๐๐ฒ๐ฌ.
It is unconscionable and unfathomable for NYSDOS to direct the County of Rockland to assume administration and enforcement of the State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code and the State Energy Conservation Construction Code within the Village of Spring Valley and then decline to support those very functions being challenged by an irresponsible property-owner.
Following decades of improper development, the families in the Village of Spring Valley deserve swift action and protection by the State of New York from litigating landlords.
I am writing to respectfully, but vigorously, request your support of the Rockland County Office of Buildings and Codes against a lawsuit filed by NBM Management, Weinreb Management, Country Village Towers Corp., and Jacob Weinreb, the owners and operators of Country Village Towers in Spring Valley which had 160+ of the most egregious violations discovered at a single property since the effort launched in mid-February.
The lawsuit is challenging the administrative court Rockland County uses to prosecute code enforcement violations which are utilized statewide including in the Department of Stateโs Divisions, Department of Motor Vehicles, Department of Environmental Conservation, and many other state agencies. These tribunals expedite the legal process and are vital to our effort, as it places more urgency on the landlord to remedy dangerous violations putting lives at risk.
While most municipalities typically uncover a handful of fire and building code violations during a property inspection, the Rockland County Office of Buildings and Codes is uncovering dozens of incredibly egregious violations in nearly every building we inspect, and in the case of Country Village Towers more than 160 violations were found.
Our administrative court is a legal, well-established process authorized by the minimum standards regulations your department has promulgated and it is clear this negligent landlord, who is at the center of another lawsuit filed by New York City for 200+ building and fire code violations at 11 properties for failing to maintain fire escapes, sprinklers, and alarm systems, is trying to scapegoat the law.
The County of Rockland was designated by your office to assume administration and enforcement of these functions, and the administrative tribunal is crucial to our operation and efforts to make Spring Valley safe enough to eventually return the function back to the Village.
I believe it is your obligation, as the Secretary of State, to show your support and NYSDOS stepping aside will only enable these egregious conditions to continue because it will send a clear message that your office is unconcerned with landlords attempting to circumvent the legal process at the expense of lives.
๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฃ๐จ๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐.
๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ฒ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ฐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ค ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ซ๐๐ฌ.
Sincerely,
Rockland County Executive
