Republicans won most Port Jervis Common Council seats last week, and Stan Siegel displaced another Republican, Lisa Randazzo, as councilman-at-large. Many candidates for Port Jervis Common Council ignored requests for comments about their intentions if elected. But now elected to his targeted seat, Siegel elaborated on his aims, which, he said, are shared by his party cohorts.
“We’re all in line with what we campaigned about—quality of life issues,” he said.
He pointed to absentee landlords as frequent problems on that front, neglecting their property to the extent that tenants live in substandard conditions.
“These landlords buy houses, rent them out, do little to maintain them and then walk away,” said Siegel. “Taxpayers are left with repair and demolition costs.”
He cited calls from tenants of such landlords, complaining about badly leaking ceilings. Two tenants told Siegel they encountered raw sewage in their building basement.
“They fear eviction, so they don’t call their landlords, because they have no place to go,” Siegel said. “Building inspectors need to be more vigilant.”
Mayor Kelly Decker, re-elected on the Port Jervis First ticket, has often differed with Siegel, who has been long time Fourth Ward councilman. They continue to differ. Decker cites the Covid-19 pandemic as cause for inspection delays.
“Covid unfortunately stopped many inspections from happening,” Decker said. “Now the court backlog is slowing down the process. Hopefully this will continue to clear up, and inspection of rental properties will yield compliance.”
Siegel also suggested that the city buy the synagogue building that had housed Temple Beth El on E. Main St. and convert it to a recreation center. He and several other Republicans had previously voted down a recreation center design, proposed by Decker, that would involve renovating the Farnum House and building a modern addition. The building was designed to also house an emergency evacuation center, municipal offices and senior and youth centers, but Siegel and his allies cited cost and aesthetics as problematic.
“The synagogue has a kitchen, bathrooms, a cellar and high ceilings that would be good for basketball,” Siegel said.
He contended that Farnum House neighbors had opposed Decker’s proposal, but the synagogue would have no neighbors on the north side and an apartment building on the west side. Decker said that he is open to suggestions but dubious about this one.
“Why would we buy a new piece of property that will be in perpetuity off the tax rolls as a church but could be taxable if a private investor were to buy it?” he asked. “ We already have property that we can develop on, like Farnum House, that is deeded to the city for life.”
The synagogue is currently listed for $595,000, but Decker’s Farnum House proposal would have cost about $8 million. He said that the U.S. Departent of Agriculture might provide funding. He also voiced concerns about conversion of the synagogue to a “community/senior/evacuation center.”
“I don’t know the square footage of the building or its capabilities, including weight load, but it was built in 1958, so any rehabilitation would need to start with an asbestos inspection. That could lead to asbestos abatement as well as other internal issues, like electrical and plumbing. Just like the Farnum property, all work would be done at prevailing wages.”
Siegel also suggested that the fire department have a central firehouse, which would be more efficient and easier to staff, given volunteer shortages.
Decker said that an emergency services building for police, fire and ambulance services would be more appealing for grant funding.
“We’re not in a financial place to get this under construction now, but this is a good time to start planning,” he said.
Siegel also said that he had been hearing complaints in every ward about the city’s focus on improvements downtown, rather than in their neighborhoods.
“It’s a complaint we need to investigate,” said Siegel. “How realistic is it?”
He noted that a road to the Point Peter trails was repaved, but Minisink Ave. had not been repaired after being used as a detour when the Main St. road and bridge work was done.
Decker questioned the claim’s validity while also justifying the attention to downtown as a key attraction for people who recently moved to Port Jervis.
“Talk to people who have bought houses in Port Jervis over the last few years. Ask them what brought them to Port Jervis,” Decker said. “Your answers will be varied but will include an inviting downtown with excitement and vigor, hiking and biking trails in the Watershed Park, investment in infrastructure.”
However, he pointed out improvements in other areas, including Main St. road widening and Tri-State Bridge replacement, as the most costly work. A grant for safe streets to schools brought new sidewalks to Kingston Ave. and E. Main St., he noted
“We’ve upgraded all but one traffic light in the city. Through grants we paved all of Elks-Brox Park, reconditioned the Civil War statue at Orange Square Park, put lights on the Matamoras/Port Jervis Mid Delaware Bridge and underpass and got new city entrance signs to replace the decaying wooden signs that were 25 years old. We replaced many street signs. We’ve encouraged business growth around the city.”
He mentioned creation of the pump track for bikes in Riverside Park and the planned disc golf course, although the planning, funding and work for those projects has been largely provided by the Outdoor Club of Port Jervis. He also noted the relining of sewer pipes and lead water line replacement, both involving city workers but state mandated.
For seniors and the disabled, Siegel suggested getting Dial-a-Bus licensed to travel outside New York, but Decker said that had been discussed before, and obstacles prevented it.
“It is not allowed under the federal guidelines set forth in our agreement,” he said. “The feds fund it.”
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