Nancy! You could not have said it better! Great clarity. Ever thought of public office?
Dave DeFreest

Great letter - There should be a citizens task force developed to support the commercial and residential interests of this site. Regardless of regulatory controls a committee to support, recommend, and follow up on this problem should be put in place. A plan with goals, and milestones should be created with guidance of Elected officials and hired consultants.

You are absolutely right. And lets not forget these firefighters lives who were put in jeopardy. Why the mill wasn't shut down is beyond me. Now is the time to take legal action against Mr. Landau.

Good letter, Nancy. Is there no way to force these absentee property owners pay the code violation fine? I still suspect this is a case of arson. Inspector Vinson "thought that problems with a leaky water main could have caused the property owner to turn off water to the hydrants on site." How - and why - is that even possible? And how better to get rid of code violations than to burn the place down and collect the insurance. The town should go to court and file liens against Mr. Landau's bank accounts, insurance and anything else that can be legally attached to collect fines and back taxes said to be in the 6-figure range. If no accounts can be found, seize the property. This whole situation is appalling. It's just another case of an absentee landlord getting away with murder at our expense. The town needs to hit him where it hurts - in his bank accounts.

Sharen A. Pacenza

GREAT letter Nancy! You should absolutely think of running for public office!! Something MUST be done about this... Definitely legal action taken against the owner at the very least. Why wasn't the mill shut down prior to this if so many violations? How 'bout the school and property taxes being in the rears? How come this owner hasn't had to pay them, or be held accountable?

I totally agree with you Nancy. But other questions arise about our town officials who over see property taxes and code violations. Red flags should have gone up and the issues should have been address when town deadlines were not met. I was once in a situation as a retailer and only owed the state $600 in taxes and they threaten to shut me down, freeze my bank account and they came to my store and asked for money out of my cash register. Why weren't actions taken immediately by our town officials? Are there no checks and balances on any of our laws, policies or local codes?

Fully agree with everything. You just have to wonder WHY he hasn't been held accountable! If it were anyone else in this town we would have been shut down a long time ago. Zero tolerance for Mr. Landau people like him have no respect for property nor the community.

The waste lagoons along the Moodna should be mentioned. If one was to hike along that wild section of the Moodna that flows below the Mill Street complex towards Route 9W, one would eventually encounter a huge pit (30' deep, 200' X 50'?) lined with deteriorating black tarps and filled with sludge that I believe should have been dealt with by the owners of the complex. I can't imagine how much poison has already leached into the local aquifer due to their existence. I have been told that the town of Cornwall knows about these lagoons and have not aggressively pursued the enforcement of the law because the owners of the complex have some very cunning lawyers who sue back when their clients are pressed to obey the law. So it took a fire that destroyed livelihoods to make the public aware of the arrogance living in our midst.

Couldn't agree with your letter more, Nancy. Well done! There is no reason why this person should not be held accountable for his actions or , more appropiately, lack thereof. What ARE we doing about this as a town??

Anyone can call the EPA in to investigate the property....that does not have to be done by the town...and as for aggressive lawyers....watch out for a bankruptcy, then a shell corp "rescuing" the property with promises of income for the town, the "new plan" will sit for a period of 5 or so years, and then there will be an application to rezone for multifamily 55+ or low income housing...If this was arson, the owner won't get insurance money, but bankruptcy is surely an option, and any willing backer can easily purchase the property. It is not an uncommon, nor is it an illegal (albeit a quite shady) practice. I dont' even think the fire is enough to open enough eyes, unfortunately, to see the gravity and potential affect this will have our community as a whole. We cannot afford to have a potential environmental nightmare on our hands just sit in the hands of an owner who does not have consideration for its surrounding community members.

The site does not warrant housing. It is very flood prone.

Thanks for comments Rachael ... no amount of oversight is too little on this topic. Every piece of open land, no matter its zoning or viability for housing should be viewed as game for high density occupancy. The groups that look to inhabit them have zero regard for existing community and even less for existing laws, codes, taxes, etc.