There is NO reason for draper school to look like this! Code enforcers should have done something by now! I hope that someone brings this up at the town board meeting next week.

can you add capitol plaza to that also.....

Quoted Text

ROTTERDAM
Disabled vets aim to buy school
Building would be used for assisted-living home
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter

    The Disabled American Veterans may have the solution for a conundrum that has kept the old Draper School vacant and in legal limbo for nearly two years.
    The national nonprofi t organization is maneuvering to purchase the 94,000-square-foot structure to renovate it into roughly 150 apartments for disabled combat veterans over the age of 55. The proposed assisted-living home would be the fi rst of its kind for the organization and would serve as the fl agship for a program it has plans to implement throughout the country.
    “This will be the first in the nation,” explained Thomas Reiter, the Disabled American Veterans’ state representative and the junior vice-commander of the department in New York.
    Reiter said his organization has been in contact with First Niagara, the bank holding the building’s mortgage, and is optimistic a deal could soon be worked out to purchase the property. He declined to discuss the particulars of the deal but said the Disabled American Veterans are considering a multimillion dollar conversion of the building if all goes as planned.
    “The finances are kind of working in the right direction,” he said during a phone interview Wednesday.
    The Disabled American Veterans have more than 1.2 million members, with roughly 70,000 in New York alone. The organization provides grassroots advocacy and services in communities for veterans across the country.
    Reiter said the apartments would be from 420 square feet to 900 square feet and would have either one or two bedrooms. Veterans would need to be at least 30 percent disabled to qualify for residency at the proposed complex.
    The Disabled American Veterans had initially planned to build a similar facility on five acres near the Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center on Long Island. But Reiter said the Draper building seemed ideal for their needs and is located in close proximity to many of the services disabled veterans require.
    “Everything works out there,” he said. “It’s something we can’t pass up.”
    Reiter said the project will likely require a zone change for the 3.5-acre property but wasn’t sure if the town had a proper classifi cation for such an apartment complex. The property is now zoned for retail business, according to county records.
    Another hitch is that the property is still technically owned by the defunct International Charter School of Schenectady, which ceased operation in June 2008 after the SUNY Board of Trustees opted not to renew its charter. First Niagara initially threatened to foreclose on the roughly $7 million loan after ICSS failed to sell the property in the months following the school’s closure.
    Last year, ICSS offered to surrender its deed to the property in lieu of foreclosure proceedings. But the bank refused to accept the property and instead suggested the building be sold at an auction funded by the charter school.
    The charter school refused, sending the building into legal limbo. Harold Gordon, an attorney for ICSS, said fi nding an owner for the building has been the hang-up that has prolonged the charter school’s inevitable dissolution.
    “Really, the trustees want to wind things down and they’ve only hung in there out of a sense of obligation,” he said.
    With ownership of the building unresolved, Gordon said, the charter school has moved forward on plans to dissolve its corporation. He said the state Education Department’s Board of Regents has since accepted a petition to cease existence, meaning the charter school will now petition the state Supreme Court to dissolve its corporation even if the building isn’t sold.
    “We’ve heard nothing from the bank for months,” he said.
    However, Gordon said the charter school’s trustees would be more than willing to relinquish the property if the bank has a buyer. Absent a new owner and if the bank fails to take deed to the property, control of the building might ultimately revert to the Mohonasen Central School District, according to state law.
    Representatives from First Niagara did not return calls for comment Wednesday.
    Supervisor Frank Del Gallo lauded the plan to convert the school into apartments for disabled veterans. He said the project would help create local jobs and bring in new residents to utilize businesses throughout Rotterdam.
    “It’ll get the building going again,” he said.

http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01104&AppName=1

Quoted Text

First Niagara initially threatened to foreclose on the roughly $7 million loan after ICSS failed to sell the property in the months following the school’s closure.

TAX INFORMATION
SBL(Tax ID)#: 48.20-2-1
Assessed Value $ 1,550,000
Land Assesment $ 75,000
School Tax $ 23,250
County/Town Tax $ 17,484
City/Village Tax $ 0
Total Tax $ 40,734
Full Tax Value $ 1,631,578
Equalization Rate 0.9500
Prior Tax ID# 8.-593-24
Full Land Value $ 78,947


A reported $7M loan.  The full tax assessment of the property is of $1.6M.  I hope that the bank
has other collateral.

Total taxes shown as $40,734.  Are the payments to the county, town and school districts current?

This is an excellent use for this property.  I wish the Disabled American Veterans organization well in acquiring
the facility for the stated purpose.

Indeed, seems like a great use - and project for this group of people. That's thinking "outside the box"!

But who maintains the property now? Who is responsible for mowing the lawn?

There is another Legal Notice in today's Gazette.   How many times does the Town post this notice before they actually do the work and bill the parcel owner?  

NOTICE DIRECTING COMPLIANCE WITH CODE OF THE TOWN OF ROTTERDAM SECTION 265 - PROPERTY MAINTENANCE To: International Charter School of Sch'dy Property: 901 Draper Av., Town of Rotterdam Tax Map #59.6-8-2.111 Violation: 265-4 G - Duty to Maintain Property: To Wit: The subject property has been posted, the date of the posting is June 2, 2010. Property has an accumulation of weeds and vegetation exceeding 10 inches in height. Notice: 265-14B - Notice by Publication Notice is hereby given that the violations must be corrected within five (5) days. The five-day period shall commence on the sixth business day following the date of the second and final publication of this Notice. ACTION IN CASE OF NON-COMPLIANCE If the violation(s) are not corrected in a timely manner, the Town of Rotterdam will proceed with the removal and disposition of said violation(s) following the notice period and shall cause the costs of such removal and disposition to be charged against you and the subject property. This means that you will be personally liable for the costs incurred by the Town in correcting the violation(s) and/or that the costs of such corrections may be assessed against the real property by way of a lien. Pursuant to 265-15B, you may request a hearing before a review board on any matter you wish to address relating to the existence of the violation(s) and the removal thereof. The request for such a hearing must be made, in writing, before the expiration of the five-day notice. The request must be directed to Patrick Carroll Town Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer. If a hearing is requested no action will be taken by the Town until the completion of the hearing process. If a hearing is not requested, the Town will proceed with the removal and disposition of the materials without further notice to you. 6-5,9 7707

Isn't that what the last admin did?? Mowed and billed?

The lawn is finally mowed. Good job and I hope they keep it up.