Rockland school and apparent daycare forced to shut down after 28 violations
The county's lead building inspector said the school upstairs was unsafe and the daycare in the basement was illegal.
More Stories
A school and an apparent daycare in Spring Valley have shut down after being hit with 28 building violations.
The county's lead building inspector said the school upstairs was unsafe and the daycare in the basement was illegal.
Rockland County Buildings and Codes Director Ed Markunas told News 12 that the school and daycare operators and their landlord were given a year to move their Main Street location into compliance with the law, but when Markunas's team arrived last Wednesday to respond to a fire alarm call, they found nothing had changed.
The third-floor school still did not have a working sprinkler system and the basement was clearly still housing an unpermitted daycare, according to photos shared by Markunas.
It appeared to inspectors that infants and toddlers were sleeping amidst rotten food, trash, a tub of chickens and a heat light.
Markunas ordered that no one go back inside until all violations are resolved.
"By vacating the school, we're preventing a potential life safety issue to the occupants and the children in that basement and in the school," Markunas said during an interview Wednesday at the county office building.
He said that when his team returned on Monday to check if the school operators were obeying his vacate order. They were not. They were still operating inside the building and were resistant.
"They asked us to leave," Markunas recounted. "They didn't want us on the property. They asked for a search warrant."
A New York State Supreme Court judge allowed building inspectors inside while accompanied by the county sheriff and ordered the landlord and school operators to come to court to explain why they disagree with the vacate order.
Maria Rodríguez runs a cafe on the street-level floor just above the apparent daycare and just below the school.
She said she has run the cafe for 10 years, putting her life into it. She said an incident upstairs or downstairs could hinder or damage her businesses or those of others in this dense downtown district.
She is pleased the county and court are intervening.
"There could be a fire," she said in Spanish, "or who knows? It could affect many other people."
The school operators -- referred to as J. Doe in court documents -- and landlord Joseph Jacobov of BHB JHJ Capital are due in court Monday morning.
News 12 has reached out multiple times to Jacobov on Wednesday for comment on this story. All inquiries remain unanswered.
