Tenant-led petition moves to state appellate division

A petition that includes former tenants of an apartment building in the village of Dryden was denied by the New York State Supreme Court, but the law firm attached to the case isn’t giving up.

Legal Assistance of Western New York (LawNY), representing five former tenants who lived in an apartment building owned by Linda Bruno at 12-14 W. Main St. in the village, filed a petition against the secretary of state to “challenge the secretary’s refusal to implement standards governing inspections and code enforcement in rental properties,” according to the petition.

David Kagle, supervising attorney for LawNY, noted that the reason behind the denial of the petition from the trial is that the secretary of state already provides “some regulation to the localities by directing them to enforcing the code in a ‘due and proper manner.’”

“The supreme court ruled it was in compliance with the statute,” Kagle added.

Representatives from LawNY “strongly disagreed” with the trial court’s reasoning for denial.

“We don’t think telling local governments to enforce the code in a ‘due and proper manner’ sets any standard by which anybody could judge a local code officer’s actions,” Kagle added. “That’s not a standard; it’s a vague suggestion.”

This decision has led Kagle and LawNY to appeal it to the state’s appellate division.

“We’re asking the appellate division to take another look at whether the state is really meeting its obligations,” he added.

The petition, led by former tenant Keionzie Clements, highlights the issues Clements and other tenants faced while living in the West Main Street apartment building.

“We asked for maintenance from the landlord soon after we moved into our apartment because our stove wasn’t working and there were water leaks coming from the ceiling,” Clements noted in the past (tinyurl.com/2gwod7aw). “Things got really bad in April of 2021 when our toilet stopped working and the landlord refused to fix it. We had to use the bathroom at the library and gas station. That’s when I called code enforcement, but all they did was send letters to the landlord, and then the village condemned our whole building without making the landlord fix anything.”

A handful of calls to code enforcement, and no action from the property owner, led to the village ordering the tenants “to leave their homes within 72 hours,” according to a release from LawNY earlier this year.

On Nov. 1 of this year, Kagle spoke before the New York State Assembly during a public hearing regarding building code enforcement.

Kagle told state legislators that code enforcement “does not work at all” for tenants. Common defects, he added, are lack of heating, lack of running water, plumbing and sewage problems, missing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, electrical defects and roof leaks.

“It’s not because the local officials aren’t trying to enforce the code,” Kagle said. “It’s not because they’re not trying to get compliance. It’s because the secretary [of state] has not implemented any minimum standards when it comes to enforcing the code.”

Kagle noted that regulations are “up to the local officials whatever they feel is appropriate,” noting that landlords don’t want to “voluntarily comply” with the issues of their properties, which are deemed “unsafe structures.”

“When a tenant contacts a code enforcement officer, they don’t know what’s going to happen,” Kagle said. “They’re afraid to call code because they don’t know what’s going to happen and they’ll continue to live in dangerous situations. They don’t know what’s going to result in homelessness without any prior warning.”

Kagle mentioned that the position with code officers is “always the same.”

“If the property is dangerous, you can just condemn the building,” he said. “No other enforcement action must be taken against the landlord.”

The code enforcement program provided by the secretary of state is a “statewide issue,” Kagle said.

“There should be routine check-ins, and they should be predictable,” he added. “Issues with a property should not be enforced against a tenant. It should be totally separate from the administrative actions that should be taken against the landlord to bring the building into compliance.”

Once LawNY files the necessary documentation to the state appellate division, Kagle anticipates a response to the appeal could take up to a year.

“Tenants need a routine process with a timeline and certain steps that will be taken,” he said. “We hope minimum standards would provide a consistent response and [tenants will] know what will happen when they call code.”

Dryden Dispatch appears every Wednesday in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@VizellaMedia.com.

In brief:

Freeville United Methodist Church to hold wreath sale Saturday

The Freeville United Methodist Church will hold a wreath sale this Saturday.

The cost for a one-size wreath is $30, and wreaths come with a choice of a red, burgundy or plaid bow. Wreaths are available on site or for delivery.

To place an order for a wreath, contact Paula Aiken at aikenp515@gmail.com or (607) 279-3641. All proceeds will support the church’s Christmas outreach.

Dryden Town Historical Society brings back Holly Tour

The Dryden Town Historical Society will hold its Holly Tour this year after the hiatus of the past few years.

The event will take place from 1 to 5 p.m. Dec. 4. It involves various historic homes in the town of Dryden that will be open for view. Each home will be decorated for the holidays.

Tickets for the event are $10 and will be available to purchase at the homes on the tour or at the Southworth Homestead.

For more information, contact Mary Hornbuckle at (607) 898-3461.