Two former Spring Valley Building Department officials will have to wait until next year for their trial to begin. Building Department Chief Wayne Ballard and Assistant Building Inspector Raymond Canario were both slated to begin court proceedings next week, but News 12 says attorney scheduling issues were the reason for the delay. The two are charged with filing false inspection reports, in connection with 2021’s fatal fire at a village adult home that killed a resident and a volunteer firefighter.
Breaking News
Orangetown and Nyack School to go to Court Next Week Over Alleged Code Violations at Former College Site
The town of Orangetown and an Orthodox Jewish congregation that operates several schools on the former Nyack College campus will be in court next week arguing over multiple zoning, fire and safety code violations allegedly found there. Orangetown Supervisor Teresa Kenny says the town wants everything to be brought up to code…
Nyack College sold the campus for about $45 million two years ago. An unknown number of violations pre-date the sale.
Rockland’s Outgoing State Senator: No Plans Yet, but Not Going Away
With Rockland’s New York State senator looking at his last month-and-a-half left on the job, he says it’s too early to say what’s next for his career. Senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick told “The Morning Show” yesterday he’ll make the most of his last few weeks in office…
Reichlin-Melnick says he looks forward to spending more quality time with his wife and five-month-old daughter. Republican Bill Weber takes over the Senate seat in January. The two had a close race two years ago when Reichlin-Melnick first won the spot.
Rockland’s Office of Buildings and Codes Details First 9 Months on the Job in Spring Valley
Rockland’s Office of Buildings and Codes has opened the curtains on the challenges they’ve faced in the last nine months since being directed by the state to take over Spring Valley’s building and code enforcement responsibilities. That came in the wake of the fatal fire that killed a village firefighter and a resident of the Evergreen Adult Home. OBC Director Ed Markunas says since taking over, they’ve uncovered more than 4,000 violations…
The county says it will take time to correct decades of mismanagement and neglect. If you have any building and code violation complaints in Spring Valley, call 845-364-3700 or send an email to BuildingsAndCodes@co.rockland.ny.us.
News Briefs: Fatal Car Accident in Orange Kills Rocklander, Lawsuit Filed Against Town of Haverstraw
Two were killed and five others hospitalized after a head-on crash in Orange County Thursday morning. State Police say 29 year-old Pedro Lorenzo Gutierrez-Lacon of Spring Valley was driving a Ford Econoline van when he crashed head-on into a Freightliner box truck on Route 32 in Woodbury. Gutierrez-Lacon was killed at the scene, the driver of the box truck, 48 year-old Clive Booth of Goshen, died later at Westchester Medical Center. State Police say five passengers in the van were taken to local hospitals with serious injuries, their identities were not released. The cause of the crash is under investigation. Anyone who may have seen the incident should call State Police in Monroe at 845-782-8311.
A Hillsdale, New Jersey, man was hospitalized after being struck by a car in Pearl River early Sunday morning. That’s according to DailyVoice.com, which says Orangetown Police are searching for the hit-and-run driver responsible. It all went down around 2am Sunday near 50 East Central Avenue. 61 year-old Adan Valentin Huerta-Martinez was reportedly hit by a black four-door sedan traveling east. Huerta-Martinez was taken to Nyack Hospital in stable condition. If you have information, call Orangetown Police at 845-359-3700.
A Haverstraw man will spend the next 20 years in state prison after he was convicted of sexually assaulting a woman upstate five years ago. That’s according to DailyVoice.com. Sullivan County D-A Meagan Galligan said 40 year-old Jose Gomez also faces 15 years of post-release supervision. Gomez was convicted after a four-day trial last November, and sentenced earlier this month.
A federal lawsuit has been filed against the town of Haverstraw by a group of Orthodox Jewish residents over their plans to convert a single-family home into a synagogue. That’s according to The Journal News. The suit also names the town’s planning board and three of its members. The proposal was the subject of antisemitic rhetoric at a planning board meeting last year.