Homeowner, Bank Ignore Nyack Court Order

The John Green House, Nyack's oldest home, is continuing to crumble—and the homeowner and involved bank are doing nothing about it.

The structure, located at 23 Main Street, has been in severe disrepair for years due to neglect and likely squatters. Since, the village has condemned the home, ordered it repaired and warned that it is a danger to neighbors and passers-by.

(Read a history of the home, and its degeneracy, .)

To remedy the situation, Nyack officials issued a court order demanding the homeowner and/or bank take action by Dec. 31, 2011. But nothing has been done—the house remains, walls deteriorating and windows shattered.

"Obviously, they've done nothing," said Walter Sevastain, Nyack's village attorney. "The owner and bank are ignoring the court."

The owner is Stacey Mininsohn, a resident of Osprey, FL. She has not responded to Patch's calls for comment.

The village may now have to take action, possibly eliminating the house and billing the owner and bank through taxes. Still, little progress has been made since last year, when officials announced it would cost about $60,000 to simply shore up the home.

"Generally speaking, we’re back where we started with some protection on recovering costs," Sevastian said, noting its unlikely Nyack would be able to recover all of the money spent eliminating the house.

Nyack officials have stated the village does not have the funds to preserve the home as a historic landmark, and other organizations—like the Historical Society of the Nyacks—have had trouble coming up with funds, too.

John Gromada, a Nyack resident, has been spearheading an effort to save the home on Facebook. Old Structures Engineering, PC, a Manhattan-based consulting firm that specializes in preserving older homes, has also weighed in.

In an engineering report issued by Old Structures obtained by Patch, an inspector describes the home as, "a well-built house suffering from decades of neglect, including poor or non-existent maintenance and mediocre alterations. The building is salvageable but with two caveats: it requires immediate temporary work to make it safe and to prevent further damage, and not all of the existing building material is salvageable."

The analysis was based on observation alone—"no probes or other testing was
used," the consultant notes—but Old Structures recommends sweeping overhauls like replacing rotting rafters and major roof repairs. No price estimate is given.