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Wallkill Valley Times , Wednesday , August 17 , 2016

PUBLIC AGENDA

WEDNESDAY , AUGUST 17

Shawangunk Zoning Board of Appeals , 7 p . m . Town Hall , 14 Central Ave ., Wallkill Village of Walden Planning Board , 7:30 p . m . Village Hall , 1 Municipal Square .

THURSDAY , AUGUST 18 Shawangunk Town Board , 7 p . m . Town Hall , 14 Central Ave ., Wallkill Crawford Town Board , 7 p . m . Town Hall , 121 Route 302 , Pine Bush . Wallkill Board of Education . 7 p . m ., High School Library Media Center .

MONDAY , AUGUST 22 Maybrook Village Board , 7 p . m . Village Government Center , 111 Schipps Lane , Maybrook .

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The Wallkill Valley Times , ( USPS 699-490 ) is a weekly newspaper published every Wednesday at Newburgh , N . Y . 12550 , with offices at 300 Stony Brook Court , Newburgh , N . Y . . Single copy : $ 1 at newsstand . By mail in Orange , Ulster or Sullivan Counties : $ 40 annually , $ 44 out of county . Periodicals permit at Newburgh , N . Y . POSTMASTER : Send address changes to Wallkill Valley Times , 300 Stony Brook Court , Newburgh , N . Y . 12550

By TED REMSNYDER

It only takes one disruptive neighbor to cause havoc in an entire neighborhood , and two dozen Walden residents attended the Village Board meeting on August 9 at Town Hall to express their dismay about the deteriorating conditions at 14 Riverview St . The locals painted a grim picture of the residence , as fellow homeowners on the street have witnessed public urination , masses of garbage , an unchained pit bull and seemingly squalid living conditions all emanating from the modest two-family home .

At last Tuesday ’ s meeting , the board set an Aug . 22 date for a hearing on the 26 code violations the building ’ s landlord , Glen Ramcharitar , has been slapped with for infractions at his property . Ramcharitar was previously in front of the board on Oct . 20 to answer for 17 code violations against the home . The offenses included excessive trash on the property and the presence of a filthy swimming pool filled with green water located in the backyard of the home . While the village has yet to make public the list of 26 new infractions tied to the house , the fed-up Walden neighbors who attended the meeting are concerned that the landlord and his tenants will make cosmetic efforts to clean up the site only to subsequently slide back into a pattern of unruly behavior .

“ They clean up the place for a week or two , then it ’ s right back to business as usual ,” Lynn Thompson , a Riverview Street homeowner , said . “ Now that they ’ ve got their citations , they ’ re going to try to spruce it up , but I guarantee that in three weeks it will be a mess again . That ’ s how they do it .”

Numerous residents gave impassioned testimonials at the meeting calling for their street to return to its formerly peaceful state . Recent photographs of the two-story home show overflowing garbage cans and a discarded car hood on the property ’ s front lawn . Last fall , tenants in the house were spotted urinating out of the windows of the home . The local residents are determined that the dwelling at 14 Riverview must be cleaned up post haste .

The group has gathered nearly 70 signatures on a petition from homeowners on Riverview and Walnut Street calling for the board to handle the situation . “ We , the undersigned , are angry citizens who urge our officials to act now to take action against the landlord of the above mentioned property ( 14 Riverview Street ),” the document reads . “ It took us hours to do this petition just because with every neighbor it took us 20 minutes to half an hour , because they all had a story ,” resident Beth Keator said .

Neighbors of the troubled property aren ’ t even sure how many tenants are living in the home , as one neighbor spotted as many as 19 people coming and going from the house on an average day . “ I don ’ t even know how many people are living in that house ,” Thompson said . “ There is so much traffic in and out seven days a week , 24 hours a day . Different people , different faces , we don ’ t know who actually lives there . They look filthy - hair uncombed , clothing dirty , no shoes , children with diapers dragging down to their ankles , no shoes . There ’ s little kids running out into the middle of the road . Wrecked cars everywhere . The house is absolutely disgusting .”

Thompson appeared earlier this month in front of the Town of Montgomery board to address the multiple dogs on the property that have shown aggressive tendencies . The town ’ s Animal Control Officer issued summonses for three animals spotted inside the residence , but was unable to cite five additional dogs seen roaming around the property because the tenants claimed the dogs belonged to visiting relatives .

Particularly frustrating to the aggrieved residents is the fact that Ramcharitar lives directly across the street from the property and doesn ’ t seem to be keeping a close eye on his tenants . During his appearance at the October board meeting , the landlord stated that he does not check on the property unless he has a complaint , and added that he does not have a lease agreement with his current tenants .

During that session with the board , Ramcharitar vowed that the property would be tidied up , but according to his neighbors the problems have only worsened . The landlord will be served notice to appear at next week ’ s meeting , which will include a judiciary hearing on the violations served for his property .

While sympathetic to the cause of the agitated citizens , Walden Mayor Susan Rumbold noted that the board must follow village procedures in regards to code violations , and pointed out the fact that the committee has been forceful during her tenure in removing vehicles and garbage from offending residences when it ’ s been called for .

“ It ’ s unfortunate that landlords don ’ t mind their property and it gets to that point where we have to violate it and we have to take action to get it cleaned up and fixed ,” she said .

“ We ’ ve been very aggressive when it comes to trying to make certain that people keep their properties in the proper condition . I was glad to see them ( petitioners ) because it lets me know they care about their neighborhood and they ’ re interested in working with the village to accomplish what needs to be accomplished . I share their concerns . We all do .” The administration could also look at beefing up the village ’ s landlord registry to keep offending renters in check .

The neighborhood group hopes that by showing up en masse to last week ’ s board meeting the issue can gain some momentum if they continue to press the village .

“ You can ’ t ignore an entire neighborhood ,” Thompson said . “ It ’ s not just a disgruntled neighbor anymore . It ’ s an entire neighborhood that these people have no regard for . I don ’ t want anybody to be gone , I just want them to live like decent human beings . I want our street to be safe and friendly and clean . I ’ ve had code violations at my house . I correct them - end of story . These people ignore them . We ’ d like the landlord to be accountable for the way he maintains his rental property and the occupants have to be responsible too .”

At the special August 22 board meeting , which will be held in Village Hall at 5 p . m ., the panel is also expected to choose a bid for the renovations at the Department of Public Works facility .

The bids will arrive by August 18th , and the board wants to get going on the construction on the facility so it can be finished before winter . In June , the board unanimously approved a $ 999,500 bond resolution to fund the new DPW headquarters , which will store the department ’ s fleet of trucks and serve as the new location of the Water Department . “ With the DPW , we ’ ve been doing what we can do in-house down at the site already ,” Rumbold said . “ Moving equipment out , and things of that nature . We ’ re doing everything we can do to be prepared so if and when the bid is accepted , whoever wins the bid can get in there and start doing their work as soon as possible .”