Eyesores and hazards present a thorny problem for towns

By Ginny Privitar
What do towns and villages do when a property is so neglected, it becomes a hazard, or an egregious eyesore?
The Chronicle, which has been tracking the pitted parking lot at the Goshen Plaza that seems to resist all solutions, asked several towns and villages this question. The process is similar for all:
The town gets in touch with the owner informally.
If that doesn’t work, the town sends a certified letter to the owner noting the violation of local code and giving a deadline to correct the problem.
If still uncorrected, the town starts legal proceedings with fines.
Goshen“We have a code that specifies if a building looks unsafe, we can condemn it,” said Goshen Town Supervisor Doug Bloomfield. "For something minor like an unmown lawn, the legal protocol is to send a registered letter.”
If that doesn't get results, the town will mow and put the cost on the property owner's tax bill.
In one recent case, a home was in foreclosure, and belongings were scattered in the yard. The town wrote a letter to the bank owner.
“It always starts with a registered letter," Bloomfield said. "If no response, the town cleans up or makes a correction."
Eventually the clean-up went out for competitive bid and was put on the tax bill.
That’s unusual though. In his 13 years as Supervisor, he said, “I never remember a business that wasn't responsive.”
Goshen Village Mayor Kyle Roddey said it all depends on the actual part of the local code in violation. Many aesthetic issues do not rise to the level of being illegal, he said.
"We have a mechanism to hire landscapers to cut lawns of properties that are abandoned and then that cost is passed onto the homeowner on their tax bill,” said Roddey.
ChesterVillage of Chester Code Enforcement Officer John Orr said dealing with these issues takes time. But the process can be sped up if there’s an imminent danger to life, like a leaning building. In that case, the village could step in.
Owners may be given two weeks’ time to rectify a problem, as long as it’s not a health hazard or imminent danger. After the two weeks, Orr said they’ll “send them an invitation to court. The village attorney writes the petition against the person. He creates the case the judge hears. If the subject show ups, we'll try to talk to the subject. When we're in court, you're looking at four to five weeks since the initial letter. The judge will decide the number of days to fix the problem. If not, every day will be another fine.”
For vacant or zombie properties, if the first notice has been ignored, a second notice goes out, usually with less time to comply.
“We will post a notice that the property is in violation and the certificate of occupancy has been revoked,” Orr said.
The village has been forced to maintain the property, and there will be no certificate of occupancy for the property until it’s maintained and fines have been paid, he said
Warwick Village of Warwick Code Enforcement Officer Boris Rudzinski said the village is not allowed to fix anything on private unless ordered by the court.
“We send a letter first and then an issue an order to remedy with a strict time frame," Rudzinski said. "If non-life threatening, it’s 30 days. If it threatens safety, it’s sooner.”
What happens if, for example, a hanging storefront sign is threatening to fall onto the sidewalk?
“The village can't fix it," he said. "If it’s not fixed right, then the village is liable. But we would alleviate the danger. We might take a hanging sign down, if that's the only way to address it. Or cordon off the area."
MonroeThe Town of Monroe finds out about violations “either from employees in their daily travels or from a resident," said building inspector Ben Maldonado.
The building department will issue a violation, and the owner has up to 30 days to correct the existing violation. After that, the property owner is fined. The fine varies depending on the violation and might be $500 a day.
"Once in court it's the judge's discretion," said Maldonado. "We don't push fines because we want compliance. The biggest problem is fire safety violation.”
Owners are required to fix violations from most serious to least.
“If we see there's some type of compliance, we take into consideration that some things might take longer, like things that have to be ordered. If no compliance we go to the town justice. The court issues a letter to the owner instructing them to show up on certain date.”
Maldonado also appears in court, an opportunity to talk face-to-face and resolve the problem before speaking to the judge. Sometimes the judge gives them another 30 days or a fine and orders compliance.
“If nothing is done, we go straight to a trial," he said. "It doesn't happen too often. I've been here since 2006 and we only had two trials. At the end of the day, a trial will cost them attorney fees. Usually owners comply.”
“One year we had an unsafe building with roof collapse. A roof joist broke and we posted the building, but within a couple of days they were fixing it up,” Maldonado said.
Village Mayor Neil Dwyer said the building department maintains a close relationship with most owners of business properties and their tenants.
"In most cases a simple phone call or letter would take care of any problem that may arise such as a broken sidewalk, potholes or clilapiclatecl building," Dwyer said. "The village does not repair issues on private property. That would be the responsibility of the property owner."
If the first steps do not work, the village will issue a notice of violation with 15 days to remedy the problem. If that doesn't work, an appearance ticket is issued with possible fines of $250 per day or 15 clays in jail. These measures are stricter than those set by the state, he said.
As for imminent danger, such as a dangling sign, "our department would placard the structure and prohibit the use of that area until the danger is eliminated. We would have the authorization under New York State emergency measures to secure and possibly remove the danger at the cost to the owner of the premises."