UDPATE: Town Supervisor Cites 22 Building Violations on Boat Club

Members of the already threatened Ossining Boat and Canoe Club got a further shock when they found themselves shut out of the building by chains and signs.

In the midst of a feasibility study Town Supervisor Susanne Donnelly has started on the prospects of getting the building razed to make way for a restaurant, the place received a thorough inspection from the building department last week.

The inspectors, according to club member Mark Fry, found a number of minor violations with “no clear and present danger,” and specifically demanded the club turn off four circuit breakers where outlets had been replaced but not old wiring.

The club did that, but apparently someone turned a breaker back on, Fry said.

The building inspector arrived again, this time with an electrician, and saw a light on where it shouldn’t be “and went ballistic,” Fry said.

Next thing the members knew, the place was shut down this week – quite dramatically, Fry said, with chains on the door and bright green stickers saying that the place is unfit for occupants.

"This was not a surprise," said Supervisor Donnelly, who said these inspections, going on for much of October from both the building and fire departments, are part of normal annual contract procedure for the town-owned property. 

She specified that they found no less than 22 violations in the building, namely rewiring work that was supposed to have been done since the salt water from Hurricane Sandy washed ashore. She reminded readers of the fire that destroyed the New Jersey boardwalk businesses from salt in the wiring. 

"This was the hardest thing we can possible do," Donnelly said, adding that she's actually a member of the club herself. "But this is a public building. A town-owned building. And we cannot have this kind of liability."

Other club members are livid about the closure. Peter Eagleton wrote on Patch, “Don't believe the spin people. Wake up to what is really going on here. What are the true motives behind this? Congratulations on dismantling a club and community of decent people that have weathered many storms for nearly 100 years.” 

You can read his full post here.