COOPERSTOWN – If you see something, Governor Cuomo suggests, say something.
“We’ve been contacted about businesses having too many people in the store, people not wearing masks, that sort of thing,” said Sheriff Richard J. Devlin, Jr.
As part of Cuomo’s executive order, complaints can be lodged by citizens if they see non-essential businesses open, non-emergency private construction work, or gatherings where more than 10 people are present. The complaints are anonymous, and local law enforcement is sent out to investigate.
In addition to the deputies, the county’s Code Enforcement Office is responding from complaints against contractors.
A shower stall with peeling paint and missing tiles was one of the images contained in a report that followed the city’s Code Enforce Office report on 195 Main St. after a Tuesday, Jan. 15, inspection.
ONEONTA – The waiting game is coming to an end.
Merzig
City Attorney David Merzig and building owner Melania Pervu met with County Judge John F. Lambert’s law clerk in Cooperstown this morning, following the release of the inspection report into the former Oneonta Hotel at 195 Main St. that showed filthy bathrooms, holes in walls and ceilings and tiles covering the sprinkler system.
According to Merzig, the clerk recommended that the city bring an Order to Show Cause to the judge, recommending punishment for the Pervus – Melania and her husband Nicolae – for failing to comply with Lambert’s September order that the building be brought up to code by Jan. 11. The order will then be presented to the judge for his ruling.
On Jan. 15, code inspectors from Oneonta City Hall conducted a court-ordered inspection of the old Oneonta Hotel, 195 Main St., the latest step in attempts to get the apartment building repaired after it was found unsafe by the city Board of Public Service in January 2017, two years ago. City Attorney David Merzig and the landlords, Melanie and Nicolae Pervu, are due to appear before Judge John F. Lambert in Cooperstown tomorrow (Thursday) in hopes of getting a final resolution. From left, photos show ceiling tiles covering the sprinkler system; a deteriorating bathroom, and piles of garbage. The photos and reports were obtain by a Freedom of Information Act request filed on behalf of www.AllOTSEGO.com, Otsego County’s Daily Newspaper/ONLINE.
The former Oneonta Hotel was declared “unsafe” by City Hall in late 2017. A recent inspection found that enough violations still exist that the city wants County Judge John Lambert to enforce the Order to Vacate put in place at that time. (Ian Austin/AllOTSEGO.com)
By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
MerzigPervu
ONEONTA – Citing missing kitchen appliances, holes in the ceiling and a blocked sprinkler system, among nearly a dozen pages of code violations, the City will argue that Melania Pervu, owner of the former Oneonta Hotel at 195 Main St., has failed to remedy the unsafe conditions of her building, as ordered by County Judge John Lambert last September.
“There are still considerable violations,” said Mayor Gary Herzig. “We have an obligation to make sure everybody in the city lives in a building deemed safe.”
With the court-imposed deadline of Jan. 11 passed, Judge John F. Lambert has requested a meeting with the city and Pervu at 10 a.m Friday, Jan. 25. “We will present the fact that our inspection shows outstanding violations,” said Herzig. “We took a number of photographs to demonstrate our concern.”
The former Oneonta Hotel, 195 Main St., in its glory days during the first half of the 20th Century.
ONEONTA – In an order by county Judge John Lambert, owner Melania Pervu must make all repairs to the building at 195 Main St. before the Jan. 11, 2019 deadline or she could be held in contempt of court, according to a decision made Friday, Dec. 7.
“The city believes she violated the order, but understands the reluctance to issue a vacancy order before Christmas,” said City Attorney David Merzig.
