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ROTTERDAM
Complex sues over flood damage
Claims damage from flooding due to negligence
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Justin Mason at 395-3113 or jmason@dailygazette.net.

    Clogged culverts and poorly maintained drainage systems helped exacerbate flooding that caused more than $2.1 million in damage to the Long Pond Village apartment complex, according to a legal proceeding filed against the state Canal Corp. and Department of Transportation.
    The Article 78 lawsuit filed in Albany County state Supreme Court last month also names Schenectady County and the town of Rotterdam among the agencies responsible for maintaining drainage-related infrastructure. The limited liability corporation owning the 192-unit complex off Campbell Road is asking the court to compel the state, county and town to “comply with their legal duties” to maintain any systems designed to alleviate flooding in Rotterdam.
    Parts of Long Pond Village were inundated with more than 4 feet of water during the fl ooding from Tropical Storm Irene. The lawsuit claims the storm water systems in place would have at least mitigated flood damage had they been properly maintained.
    “For instance, the culverts on Campbell Road ... a state-owned road, were neglected, filled with silt and debris, and obstructions that prevented the natural flow of water through the culverts,” the lawsuit states. “Old River Road and adjacent areas were also back fl ooded because the water could not drain into the Mohawk River, resulting in water backing up on to [Long Pond’s] property.”
    The legal action doesn’t ask for damages; rather it seeks “any relief” deemed appropriate by the court.
    James Barriere, the lead attorney for Long Pond Village in the case, said the action is aimed at ensuring any future flooding doesn’t result in extensive damage to the apartment complex. Long Pond had 32 units destroyed during the fl ooding, according to the lawsuit.
    “What the lawsuit focuses on is the public lands where the water is supposed to flow,” Barriere said Friday.
    A spokeswoman with the transportation department did not return a call. R.W. Groneman, a spokesman with the Canal Corp. declined to discuss the legal matter.
    “We’ll have no comment at this time,” he said.
    County Attorney Chris Gardner reviewed the lawsuit and said he didn’t see any legal liability for the county. He questioned whether an Article 78 proceeding was applicable given the circumstances.
    “It’s an unusual legal strategy,” he said.
LINK TO IDA
    Town Supervisor Harry Buffardi said he is still reviewing the lawsuit and reserved comment. He said the legal action will likely mean the Rotterdam Industrial Development Agency will have to remain active.
    The Rotterdam IDA has a payment-in-lieu of taxes agreement with Long Pond Village. The state Authorities Budget Offi ce recommended dissolving the Rotterdam IDA after learning the agency no longer carried any bond debt.
    “This is probably going to extend the life of the IDA,” Buffardi said.
    The project to build Long Pond Village’s eight three-story apartment buildings initially faced staunch opposition from conservationists, who argued the development could disrupt a sensitive recharge area of the Great Flat Aquifer. Others questioned whether the massive development would cause additional troubles for the already flood-prone area around Old River Road.
    Since construction started in 2008, the complex has faced moderate flooding issues. In March 2009, wet weather and ice jams along the Mohawk caused water to accumulate in the apartment complex, but none of its units sustained damage. ........................>>>>...................>>>>........................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01400&AppName=1

How many of you remember the many times that Cambell Rd was closed due to flooding long before any apartments were ever built there? There is a long history of flooding in that area which leads to the question of why were apartment allowed to be built there in the first place.

Quoted from Shadow

How many of you remember the many times that Cambell Rd was closed due to flooding long before any apartments were ever built there? There is a long history of flooding in that area which leads to the question of why were apartment allowed to be built there in the first place.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

H E L L O - You built it on a friggin aquifer!  WTH did you think was gonna happen?

The fix is in folks, anything to keep the IDA open.

$$$$$$$$$ and favors will always trump common sense and logic

The IDA is part of the problem.

let's give them a GIIIIIIIIANT BRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIILLLLLIANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For years that area was always flooded at certain times of the year.....there was always some kind of water either high or inches

in that area.....what a mess and keep building where there should be none.....kudos to the Planning commission...???????????

what's next for Rotterdam....

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ROTTERDAM
Legal dispute slows repairs
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter

    A bare cement floor and fresh drywall greet the residents living in Long Pond Village’s Building 4.
    The stairwell in the 24-unit apartment building has looked like a construction zone since the early fall. The ground floor units are gutted to the studs from the building’s slab foundation to more than two feet up every wall, denoting the area that was contaminated by flood water late last summer.
    Half of Long Pond’s eight buildings were inundated with fl ood water following Tropical Storm Irene. Damage from the flood extended to 32 of the 192 units, closing roughly 16 percent of the complex.
    Sunrise Management, the company that oversees Long Pond, quickly moved the displaced residents into the newly fi nished Building 7, which had received its certificate of occupancy from the town few weeks prior to the storm. Workers were then able to gut the damaged units within a couple of weeks.
    The company was about to borrow $2.1 million to complete the job in October, when it hit a snag: It needs approval from the Rotterdam Industrial Development Agency. The development is now in its third year of a 10-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with the Rotterdam IDA and needs its approval before a bank can approve a loan.
    “Where we came into a road- block was under our PILOT agreement with the IDA, which requires us to get approval for any additional financing for our project,” said Long Pond owner Bob Murray.
    Only it’s unclear whether the Rotterdam IDA even exists anymore to issue such an approval. The state Authorities Budget Offi ce last year determined the Rotterdam IDA could no longer exist because it no longer carried any debt — the last bond was paid off sometime in 2009.
    Without debt, the Rotterdam IDA is no longer in compliance with the state law governing such authorities. And while the ABO has no authority to compel the Rotterdam IDA to dissolve, it suggested any decision made by the IDA’s board of directors could subject it to legal troubles.
    Rotterdam IDA chairman Robert Mallozzi disputed the ABO’s fi nding, saying it doesn’t need to issue bonds because its economic development projects are done without taking on any debt.
    The Rotterdam IDA generally takes nominal title to a property to exempt a project from sales and mortgage tax or to offer a PILOT agreement — as is the case with Long Pond Village.
    But the ABO wasn’t swayed by the argument. In a letter earlier this month, Director David Kidera said Mallozzi’s reasoning still didn’t justify the continued existence of the Rotterdam IDA.
    “Given this fact, we must advise the Rotterdam Industrial Development Authority that any action taken by its board subsequent to the retirement of the IDA’s bonds and notes could be a nullity as a matter of law,” he stated in the letter. “Therefore, the board of directors, the sponsoring municipality and any current or future project applicant that accepts benefi ts could be at risk.”
    If the Rotterdam IDA dissolves, all of its holdings would be transferred to Rotterdam. The town cannot administer PILOT agreements, so those would be transferred to the Schenectady County IDA.
    Both the Schenectady County and Rotterdam IDAs are administered by the Metroplex Development Authority. Each retains its own local board of directors.
    The town and county, however, aren’t exactly jumping to complete the massive amount of paperwork needed to effect the transfer because of a legal flap that has since arisen with Long Pond.
    Last month, the apartment complex filed an Article 78 lawsuit naming the town and county among a group of municipal entities responsible for clearing clogged culverts and debris-choked drainage systems.
    Among other things, the lawsuit claims the county and the town are responsible for maintaining drainage-related infrastructure. The apartment complex is aiming to compel the state, county and town to “comply with their legal duties” to maintain any systems designed to alleviate flooding in Rotterdam, according to the lawsuit.
    “We have a lot of people uncomfortable about providing a benefit to [Long Pond] while they’re suing us,” said Metroplex chairman Ray Gillen. .....................>>>>...................>>>>................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00903&AppName=1

Speaking of which, there is a pot of money of some sort that the IDA holds. It will be Christmas morning to the biggest spendthrift board in Rotterdam's history when they get ahold of it after the IDA dissolves. Another one-shot to spend on overtime and pension padding for their special interest masters. It will go into the Rdam genrl' fund and be squandered with no cuts again, like manna from Cielo.

Reminds me of an old Sam Kinison bit regarding starving people in Ethopia, "why are we sending them food, we need to send them moving vans, they live in the f'n desert"

Quoted from GrahamBonnet

Speaking of which, there is a pot of money of some sort that the IDA holds. It will be Christmas morning to the biggest spendthrift board in Rotterdam's history when they get ahold of it after the IDA dissolves. Another one-shot to spend on overtime and pension padding for their special interest masters. It will go into the Rdam genrl' fund and be squandered with no cuts again, like manna from Cielo.

SHOW ME THE $$ TRAIL.....what was the issue with not holding loans??? extortion? what????

And who was it again who approved this APARTMENT project? The RIDA? Doesn't the 'I' stand for 'Industrial'???

Since when does an APARTMENT fall under the category of INDUSTRIAL?

Long Pond will sue and win! Another black eye for the rotterdamians!

Ya gotta love the vision and planning in rotterdam! WHAT A MESS!

This is what happens when you allow developers to build on swampland, like Brian Stratton noticed when watching the canal operate, the water goes up and the water goes down.

Quoted from Shadow

This is what happens when you allow developers to build on swampland, like Brian Stratton noticed when watching the canal operate, the water goes up and the water goes down.

up and down, up and down, up and down.....hehehehehehehehehe.....the whole dog and pony show is funny......