This paper has done an excellent job covering our Village Zoning Board appeal for the housing complex at 2 Mohonk Avenue. The most recent article entitled “No Action …Zoning Board of Appeals ducks 2 Mohonk Appeal” was more good reporting.

The quote at the end of the article from the housing developer’s attorney was exactly what we have come to expect from 2 Mohonk’s representation. He said “Tim Rogers refused to file complaints with the building inspector” and “his appeal was made in complete disregard of the law.” But in reality, not only did we file complaints and regularly communicate with the building department, we also published our list of complaints and questions in this newspaper in August 2014 and sent them to the full Village Board.

Fortunately, the ZBA reviewed our appeal on its merits because they recognized the challenges. The Building and Planning Department had said the ZBA had never seen an application like ours before. The Building Department did not provide a form for our application – as required by local code – or tell us what the application fee was until after the 30-day deadline to file. We have a paper trail showing we had been requesting the form within the 30-day deadline.

At each of our discussions before the ZBA, the attorney for the developer’s primary argument against our appeal centered on the timeliness of our filing. He appeared uninterested in the various violations at his client’s housing complex with illegal bedrooms, room dividers, insufficient parking and inadequate storm water retention.

Recently, I have heard from 2 Mohonk residents who feel trapped and exploited. They are afraid to speak up and risk being evicted mid semester or lose their security deposits. These tenants have been paying $700 for individual rooms in 4,692 SF buildings with at least 14 bedrooms that are only supposed to have 6 bedrooms. But now the 2 Mohonk developer has removed illegal dividers in their rooms – most likely in response to our appeal – so now they’re paying $700 to share bedrooms and are too frightened to challenge the developer.

This developer has been exploiting the Village of New Paltz and its residents since at least 2004. Simply take a look at his floor plans from 2004 for 18 North Front Street. Like 2 Mohonk, this building has extra-large bedrooms with various full-size closets designed to be broken up into multiple bedrooms. The additional bedrooms on the floor plans are clearly identified with two types of walls: (a) “wall built to ceiling” and (b) “wall built to 7’ above finished floor.” Nowhere in Village code is there any mention of partial walls used to divide bedrooms into multiple bedrooms.

These charades must stop. Such developments hurt property values, but more importantly, risk residents’ lives and the lives of our volunteer firemen. The New Paltz Fire Chief has told me there is no way a ladder truck could access the buildings at 2 Mohonk and he does not understand how the complex was ever built.

The Village board has the authority and responsibility to deal with these safety issues and code violations and must act.

The article concludes with the developer’s attorney referencing my candidacy and encouraging voters to consider what kind of Village mayor they want. This is the kind of thinking where the developer’s attorney and I are on the same page. If you favor a business-as-usual Village government where some housing developers play fast and loose with Village code then I’m not your candidate. Alternatively, if you prefer professionalism, follow-through and are tired of short-sighted development that compromises resident safety, community character, and our tax base then please vote for me as Village of New Paltz mayor. For more reasons, visit ElectTimRogers.com, or “Elect Tim Rogers” on Facebook.

Sincerely,
Tim Rogers