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General News: New Focus on Building Codes in Village
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| Bruce Yancewicz in his office. |
January 18, 2010
The newly-appointed building inspector in Cornwall-on-Hudson is shaking things up a bit, but ask Bruce Yancewicz what he is doing and he explains that he just enforcing the law.
Since he was hired as the part-time building inspector in November, Yancewicz has been reviewing building permits and visiting worksites to make sure that the work is up to code. That’s no different than what earlier inspectors did, but Yancewicz says he has discovered that some state laws have not been enforced in Cornwall-on-Hudson.
For instance, property owners in the village, Yancewicz said, will be required to get a permit for re-roofing or for replacing and installing natural gas appliances, boilers or central air units because it is required under state law.
“It’s all about public safety and protecting the residents of the building,” Yancewicz explained last week in an interview in his office at the department of public works. He said that when he was driving around the village he noticed people working on roofs but found no corresponding permit in the file and nothing in the local code about it. He said he also thinks the village should regulate replacing siding on buildings and plans to ask the village trustees next month to enact that in the code.
Yancewicz has also taken a stance on renewing building permits and says that he won’t re-issue a permit until he has re-inspected the property. He described how recently a homeowner asked to renew his permit and when Yancewicz came to look at the progress on the job, he discovered the project already had been completed so he denied the renewal request.
He also found that more than two dozen people had received certificates of occupancy or certificates of compliances but never paid the required fees. In the past month he has issued 30 orders to remedy to get the unpaid fees. He says that he is not yet charging a fee for building permit renewals because the board of trustees has to establish it first.
“The way I am, I am by the book as far as my protection of the code,” Yancewicz said. “Fire safety, building safety and protecting the residents, that’s my job.”
Earlier this month, Yancewicz’s attempt to enforce that code caused sparks to fly when a property owner of Hudson Street called the police because he was unhappy with Yancewicz’s approach. At issue was how the owner of the Silverman apartments had fixed a leaky pipe and called Central Hudson to turn the power back on when the building inspector is supposed to sign off on the work and contact the power company directly. Yancewicz said that the situation ended civilly once the owner understood the protocol. Mr. Silverman, the owner, however, later complained to the village trustees that Yancewicz used strong-arm tactics.
“I’m not going around like a police officer,” Yancewicz said, “but I will be watching out.” He says he is not picking on people but wants all residents to be on a level playing field.
One case that he is reviewing is a series of planning board and zoning board decisions that have caused an ongoing dispute between business owners Ray Yannone and Tony Missere. Both men have appealed to the village zoning and planning board over code enforcement in their adjoining buildings – a situation that began when the village approved a new patio outside Missere’s restaurant, The River Bank, that took over two parking spaces outside of Yannone’s property. Yancewisz is not saying what action, if any, he could take on that issue until he has finished reviewing the files.
Meanwhile, he does say that he will be enforcing the village code on property maintenance, making sure that the grass is cut, garbage cans don’t sit on the street, and that no junk cars or peeling paint is tolerated. It’s all about public safety and enforcing the code. That, says Yancewicz, is his job.
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