Port Chester Building Unsafe: Red Cross Moves 39 Adults, 13 Children to Motels

After spending the weekend in an emergency shelter set up in Port Chester, 39 adults and 13 children left homeless by the forced-closing of an apartment building in the village have been relocated to area motels by the American Red Cross.

Some residents of 221 William St., which was ordered vacated by Port Chester when fire and building code violations were discovered on Friday after a small fire there, have been relocated to other traditional housing, according to Red Cross spokewoman Abigail Adams. However, she said that the Red Cross believes there are still other residents of the building who have been made homeless but have not yet come forward to seek assistance.

Port Chester village officials believe about 75-people were living in the three-story William Street building. After the shut-down of the building late on Friday afternoon, the Red Cross met with displaced residents at the Port Chester Senior Center and then opened an emergency shelter at the Carver Center, 400 Westchester Ave.

Adams said the Red Cross continues to provide support services to the displaced residents of 221 William St., which remains closed.

Port Chester Mayor Neil Pagano on Monday night publicly thanked the Carver Center for opening its doors to the displaced residents. Adams said the Red Cross in Westchester could not fulfill its mission without the support of community partners such as the Carver Center during times of emergency.

"The outpouring of support from the community has been great," said Adams, specifically thanking the Carver Center for "the generous use of their space and their compassion."

Adams said the longterm future of 221 William St. residents is uncertain because there is no specific information available on when or if they can return to their apartments. Adams urged that any resident of the building who needs help but who has not come forward should contact the Red Cross at 877-RED-CROSS.

Although the fire in an apartment at 221 William St. was considered minor, Port Chester Fire Department officials called for utility company representatives to shut down services to the building and called in village building and code enforcement representatives because of conditions they found while responding to the fire call.

Port Chester on Friday declared the building unsafe and unfit for human habitation after inspectors found:

- Signs of overcrowding.

- The basement had two apartments with no emergency escape windows, no smoke/carbon monoxide detectors and locked rooms.

- Apartments on the first, second and third floors had multiple bedrooms with locked doors, no smoke/carbon monixide detectors and numerious electrical violations.

- The common area hallways had no smoke/carbon monoxide detectors, no emergency lighting and no exit signs.

- The rear of the property had a wooden porch with combustible storage, rotten wood and obstructions.

- There was evidence of illegal electrical work and wiring.

- Evidence of possible illegal basement occupancy.

The tenant of the apartment where the fire started told officials she has not had power to the rear rooms of the apartment for several weeks. The apartment had multiple extension cords running from the kitchen area to the rear rooms and to the fixutre that caused the fire.

Officials found there were no smoke detectors or carbon monoxide detectors in the apartment and other areas of the apartment had overloaded power strips and mutli-plug adapters.

A report by Village Manager Christopher Steers on the fire and the inspections said representatives of the property owner, Irving Place Properties LLC - an apparent subsidiary of Great American Properties - were at the building on Friday after the fire. However, he also reported that the village has been attempting to gain access to the building since April 2011 for inspections, but the property owner has failed to respond to repeated notices.

Steers described the situation as the village's notices simply being ignored.

The situation at 221 William St. and the displacement of the building's residents angered members of the public who attended Monday night's session of the Port Chester village Board of Trustees. The situation also drew expressions of anger and frustration from board members.

Trustee Luis Marino said he was angered because unsafe and overcrowded conditions could be noticed by anyone on William Street, yet village inspectors could not get legally get into the building.

Trustee Daniel Brakewood voiced concern that 221 William St. was shut down by a "failure of the landlord," but that it is the American Red Cross that has to bear the burden and expenses of relocating residents of the building.

"This is a subsidy of the landlord," Brakewood said, urging efforts should be made to make landlords pay the relocation costs of their tenants in situations where buildings have been neglected or operated illegally.

Port Chester Village Attorney Anthony Cerreto said the village could ask prosecutors in Village Court to seek such costs be carried by the property owner as building and fire safety violations are prosecuted.