Politics & Government

Fried Calls for Action On Illegal Apartments, Answers Campaign Contribution Questions

Democrat David Fried, who is running for Rockland County Executive, stood before Orangetown Fire. Co. No. 1 in South Nyack Monday to call for action in dealing with illegal housing units, calling them a public safety issue for all of Rockland County.

"Illegally chopped up units endanger the lives of tenants, neighbors and our first responders. This is a crisis that demands immediate action," Fried said. "When landlords chop up houses to make multiple apartments without proper permits, they create risks an dangers. Not only are they endgangering the lives of their tenants, but they also risk the lives in neighboring houses along with first responders."

Fried said the current system does not do enough. He called for standards to be set for the entire county and for databases to be shared among the towns and villages to help identify repeat offenders.He also called for more punitive fines.

"There's little incentive not to break the law," Fried said. "The amount in extra rent collected with illegal subdivisions is far greater than the fines. To many landlords, the fines are just the cost of doing business. I the penalty far exceeds the profit, maybe landlords will think twice before breaking the law and endangering the public."

Fried's opponent in the race for Rockland County Executive this fall, Republican Ed Day, responded with a press release pointing out that when Fried was running for Spring Valley Justice in 2009, he received in-kind donations from Joseph Klein's Empire Management in the form of the use of office space. According to the release, Empire Management has a history of operating illegal and unsafe housing in Ramapo. The release goes on to claim that the acceptance of such a donation was a conflict of interest.

Cliff Weathers of Fried's campaign said that Fried could not have known about the contribution from Empire Management, much less declined it, without breaking the law. He explained that according to the rules of the New York State Unified Court System, a candidate running for a judicial position cannot take part in fundraising, cannot know who the contributors are or decide to accept or reject any donations. For more on the court system laws, click here

"They can't accept or reject contributions for themselves," Weathers said. "They can't even look at them until the campaign is over."

According to Weathers, Fried did not know about the contribution from Empire Management until months after his campaign was over and closed, though he wasn't sure of the exact date. Weathers said they were disappointed that the response to Monday's press conference was about campaign financing rather than the issue of illegal housing.

The issue is not a new one. Rockland County Fire and Emergency Services Director Gordon Wren, Jr. and Rockland Deputy Fire Coordinator John Kryger spoke about cracking down the problem with a Rockland County Housing Task Force in 2012. See this report on Patch. They also spoke of the need to increase fines for illegal subdivisions an other measures to help fire inspectors work with other county entities to discover such housing.

"I recognize and appreciate the voice of the Rockland County Illegal Housing Task Force," Fried said. "You have expertise and insight from which government can learn. I will pay close attention to your findings and recommendations."

Weathers said South Nyack was chosen as the location fro Monday's press conference because they wanted to illustrate that illegal subdivisions are an issue in all parts of the county. He as joined by State Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski, South Nyack Mayor Bonnie Christian and former Rockand County Legislator Connie Coker. 


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