PORT JERVIS — Faced with new challenges in educating students, the Port Jervis School District is turning to a new program based on the best-selling book "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey.
This year the "seven habits" will become part of the Port Jervis middle and elementary schools curriculum aimed at "character education."
The "habits," encapsulated in chapter titles in the book, are phrased as axioms:
"Be proactive"
"Begin with the end in mind"
"Put first things first"
"Think win/win"
"Synergize"
"Seek first to understand, then to be understood"
"Sharpen the saw," which refers to self-renewal
This month, 20 Port Jervis teachers took a four-day program based on the book.
Led by middle school principal Cindy Benedict, it was the fourth "Seven Habits" training in the district. The first was last summer, and 110 teachers have now taken it.
John Bell, starting his sixth year as superintendent for curriculum and instruction, is an ardent advocate of the "Seven Habits" program, which he hopes will benefit both teachers and students this year.
Changes in Port Jervis
Bell, a 1985 Port Jervis graduate, said that teachers were role models for him when he was a student.
But the student population he oversees differs from the population with whom he went to school, he said. His peers were likely to stay in Port Jervis from kindergarten through high school. Jobs were more plentiful.
Now, he says, "residents are more transient. We see several hundred transfer in or out every year. Half are on free or reduced lunch programs."
He said the parents of some children who come into kindergarten never read to them. Some parents also are unable to count or spell their names.
The school district is responding with new strategies, Bell said.
From early on, "students need to write more," he said. "Get away from true-false and matching. Get away from easy tests. There will be a major push for writing this year and next. We need to start at the elementary level. Students need to write more every day, in social studies and science, in addition to English."
'Seven Habits' for students
This year, "Seven Habits" will shape the "character education" curriculum in the Port Jervis elementary and middle schools through assignments in reading and writing, he said.
The middle school will use "Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens" by Sean Covey, Stephen Covey's son, in conjunction with a workbook, "The Choice Is Yours." In English classes character education will be "embedded into the literature."
The elementary schools will use "Seven Habits of Happy Kids," also by Sean Covey, with a workbook and related literature.
Previously, character education in Port Jervis revolved around their "Caught You Being Good" program, in which teachers submitted names of worthy students to the office for prizes.
Now, said Bell, "we want to not just recognize 'doing good,' but also teach kids how to be good."
'Seven Habits' for teachers
For the teachers, Bell describes a five-year progression toward more consistency, along with a focus on "professional learning communities."
In the 2006-07 school year, Port Jervis teachers began having a common curriculum, the next year common tests, then common grading policies and vocabulary words.
"'Seven Habits' teaches teachers to maximize their time together, not just one person dominating the meeting," Bell said.
Bell was first exposed to both Covey's "seven habits" and the "professional learning communities" approach in the 1990s when he was working at Delaware Valley Middle School. He and a group of administrators attended a presentation by administrators from the Maine-Endwell School District near Binghamton. He says his response was, "Why didn't I think of that?"
"Most interesting was how happy the staff was," Bell said of his encounter with Maine-Endwell. "Collaboration made them more enthusiastic about their jobs. Happy, motivated, enthusiastic — what more could you ask for?"
Port teachers' reactions
So how did the 20 teachers respond to their four-day immersion in "Seven Habits" this month?
One teacher told the group she realized she needed to widen her circle of friends. To that end, she planned a barbecue for adults.
Another participant said for his emotional health he would stop watching the Mets; for his physical health he would look for healthier recipes.
One teacher mentioned "getting a calendar system up and running" as a new goal, and several others echoed the idea.
They talked about arranging "little rocks" around "big rocks" — scheduling their time with priorities in mind.
Bonnie Schatteman, special education teacher at Hamilton Bicentennial Elementary School, quoted Covey's maxim, "Live your life by design, not default." She said, "It reminds me to plan. At least you have a goal and schedule. In the rat race, you lose focus."
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Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
VIDEO: Neversink Bridge Project Public Hearing
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Note: Due to a recording glitch, the video ends about three minutes before the meeting.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
District Moves Offices From Middle School
From the Pike County Dispatch
PORT JERVIS — The Port Jervis School District (PJSD) Student Registration and Pupil Personnel Services Offices are relocating from the Middle School to a new modular at the Route 209 complex.
PJSD Communications Specialist Debbie Jackson announced the move.
The new modular is the second of two installed at the Route 209 campus.
The first is by the High School entrance and the second is near the Anna S. Kuhl Elementary School entrance.
PJSD board approved the modulars, which cost slightly under $250,000 each, in the 2011-2012 school-year budget.
Both offices will be closed from 11 a.m. Wednesday, July 20 through Friday, July 22 during the move. The new offices are scheduled to reopen on Monday, July 25.
The relocation frees up classroom space now used for the two offices at the Middle School. And, the move provides a more secure environment, according to Jackson.
This is because at the Middle School, the offices created more visitor traffic within the school than the administration felt was acceptable.
The modulars are dedicated space that would not create traffic within the main school buildings.
The modulars also provide meeting space for staff in both departments.
The need for meeting space or conference space at the Middle School also took additional space needed there, noted Jackson.
The one-story modular offices would also be more convenient to visitors who would not longer have to go to the second floor of the Middle School.
PORT JERVIS — The Port Jervis School District (PJSD) Student Registration and Pupil Personnel Services Offices are relocating from the Middle School to a new modular at the Route 209 complex.
PJSD Communications Specialist Debbie Jackson announced the move.
The new modular is the second of two installed at the Route 209 campus.
The first is by the High School entrance and the second is near the Anna S. Kuhl Elementary School entrance.
PJSD board approved the modulars, which cost slightly under $250,000 each, in the 2011-2012 school-year budget.
Both offices will be closed from 11 a.m. Wednesday, July 20 through Friday, July 22 during the move. The new offices are scheduled to reopen on Monday, July 25.
The relocation frees up classroom space now used for the two offices at the Middle School. And, the move provides a more secure environment, according to Jackson.
This is because at the Middle School, the offices created more visitor traffic within the school than the administration felt was acceptable.
The modulars are dedicated space that would not create traffic within the main school buildings.
The modulars also provide meeting space for staff in both departments.
The need for meeting space or conference space at the Middle School also took additional space needed there, noted Jackson.
The one-story modular offices would also be more convenient to visitors who would not longer have to go to the second floor of the Middle School.
Bridge project threatens 19th-century houses
From the Time Herald-Record, sent via email:
PORT JERVIS — When a revised plan to widen East Main Street and build a new Neversink Bridge is unveiled at a public hearing next Wednesday, Kathi Hylas will be there to object to the threat to 19th-century houses nearby.
When Hylas was growing up on Chestnut Street in Port Jervis, she said, the city was full of vintage buildings. From her bedroom window, she particularly admired a Victorian house she saw on Main Street, even though at the time, she said, the house was boringly white with black shutters.
But she moved to Texas to go to school and had no plans to return to Port Jervis until her husband died in a car accident when she was nine months pregnant.
By then, said Hylas, urban renewal had resulted in bland buildings and the loss of big trees and slate sidewalks. But in 1997 she and her second husband bought the 19th-century house on Main Street, painted it mint green with lilac shutters and gold trim, and elaborately landscaped the yard, which sloped down to the river.
Now the New York state Department of Transportation wants to build Main Street through that lovingly landscaped yard, taking the large old mountain laurel and pine entwined in maples and a chunk of their driveway and privacy, plus their two rental houses next door, vintage 1859.
Hylas also worries about her house's foundation, which is built on the Neversink ledge. She said the blasting could jeopardize the foundation.
The couple will be at the hearing, which will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday in City Hall, with their attorney, Michael Burke, of Burke, Miele, and Golden, LLP, to fight the intrusion.
For years, the Hylases had known about the East Main Street realignment project that would replace the bridge and make a section of East Main three lanes with a center turn lane. But she had not expected the project to involve their property.
"They planned to put the bridge on the other side of the street and just take a piece of the cemetery. Why they decided to come to our side of the street, I don't know," Hylas said.
Engineers' dilemma
"We're not reckless engineers," said Ted Ottini, project engineer with CHA, Inc., the engineering firm hired a year ago by the DOT for the project's final design, which is his specialty. "We try to decide on the most public-sensitive solution."
He said the original bridge plan, which would have just taken a portion of the cemetery, became unworkable when FEMA re-evaluated the flood zone and predicted the new abutments would "negatively affect" the zone because of water displacement. A second plan would have involved a temporary bridge through the cemetery.
"While that plan was on the table, I came in with highway engineers and saw we couldn't replace the old bridge without detrimentally affecting adjacent structures," Ottini said. "The foundations would have cracked."
Across the river, at least one of the two rental houses and also a commercial building would have had to go anyway, he said. Plus, a temporary bridge would have cost $2 million to construct and take down. In the cemetery, archaeological testing and stripping the front yard for unmarked graves would have cost an additional $30,000-$100,000.
"We're working against the clock with the old bridge," Ottini said. "It had to be fixed last spring, and we want to stave off more fixing."
Ottini said that, as required, CHA will have a subcontractor do an archaeological and historical assessment of the Hylas land and buildings to present to the New York state Historical Preservation Office.
But whatever the findings, he said, "we will document the lack of feasible alternatives, and prove the project can't save them. We could close the road and replace the bridge, but that's not a feasible alternative."
"I'll need to sit down with the Hylases," Ottini said. "I'm not oblivious of what we're doing there, but you never know where people stand with real estate. The DOT process will ensure they get just compensation."
PORT JERVIS — When a revised plan to widen East Main Street and build a new Neversink Bridge is unveiled at a public hearing next Wednesday, Kathi Hylas will be there to object to the threat to 19th-century houses nearby.
When Hylas was growing up on Chestnut Street in Port Jervis, she said, the city was full of vintage buildings. From her bedroom window, she particularly admired a Victorian house she saw on Main Street, even though at the time, she said, the house was boringly white with black shutters.
But she moved to Texas to go to school and had no plans to return to Port Jervis until her husband died in a car accident when she was nine months pregnant.
By then, said Hylas, urban renewal had resulted in bland buildings and the loss of big trees and slate sidewalks. But in 1997 she and her second husband bought the 19th-century house on Main Street, painted it mint green with lilac shutters and gold trim, and elaborately landscaped the yard, which sloped down to the river.
Now the New York state Department of Transportation wants to build Main Street through that lovingly landscaped yard, taking the large old mountain laurel and pine entwined in maples and a chunk of their driveway and privacy, plus their two rental houses next door, vintage 1859.
Hylas also worries about her house's foundation, which is built on the Neversink ledge. She said the blasting could jeopardize the foundation.
The couple will be at the hearing, which will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday in City Hall, with their attorney, Michael Burke, of Burke, Miele, and Golden, LLP, to fight the intrusion.
For years, the Hylases had known about the East Main Street realignment project that would replace the bridge and make a section of East Main three lanes with a center turn lane. But she had not expected the project to involve their property.
"They planned to put the bridge on the other side of the street and just take a piece of the cemetery. Why they decided to come to our side of the street, I don't know," Hylas said.
Engineers' dilemma
"We're not reckless engineers," said Ted Ottini, project engineer with CHA, Inc., the engineering firm hired a year ago by the DOT for the project's final design, which is his specialty. "We try to decide on the most public-sensitive solution."
He said the original bridge plan, which would have just taken a portion of the cemetery, became unworkable when FEMA re-evaluated the flood zone and predicted the new abutments would "negatively affect" the zone because of water displacement. A second plan would have involved a temporary bridge through the cemetery.
"While that plan was on the table, I came in with highway engineers and saw we couldn't replace the old bridge without detrimentally affecting adjacent structures," Ottini said. "The foundations would have cracked."
Across the river, at least one of the two rental houses and also a commercial building would have had to go anyway, he said. Plus, a temporary bridge would have cost $2 million to construct and take down. In the cemetery, archaeological testing and stripping the front yard for unmarked graves would have cost an additional $30,000-$100,000.
"We're working against the clock with the old bridge," Ottini said. "It had to be fixed last spring, and we want to stave off more fixing."
Ottini said that, as required, CHA will have a subcontractor do an archaeological and historical assessment of the Hylas land and buildings to present to the New York state Historical Preservation Office.
But whatever the findings, he said, "we will document the lack of feasible alternatives, and prove the project can't save them. We could close the road and replace the bridge, but that's not a feasible alternative."
"I'll need to sit down with the Hylases," Ottini said. "I'm not oblivious of what we're doing there, but you never know where people stand with real estate. The DOT process will ensure they get just compensation."
School board members spotlight district goals
From the Time Herald-Record, sent via email:
PORT JERVIS — When the Port Jervis School Board met last week to draft preliminary goals for 2011-12, school parking lots were crowded. But the goals getting attention were soccer goals outside on playing fields, not district goals.
The only people at the board meeting other than board members — several of whom were absent — were Nick Tranchina, the district electrician, who was filming the meeting, athletic director Jared Kahmar and a reporter.
So, microphones turned off, the board members conferred quietly about district goals, which will be confirmed on Aug. 9 when the absent board members return.
Improving literacy
Improving literacy was the first goal raised by School Board President Bill Onofry. He said the plan is to extend the guided reading literacy program begun at Hamilton Bicentennial Elementary to Anna S. Kuhl Elementary. The program involves having students read material at levels that challenge them, but not to the point of frustration.
Board member Catherine Sadhagiani said she also wanted to see literacy statistics on district reports next year.
Curriculum uniformity
John Bell, superintendent for instruction, said increasing curriculum uniformity has been a goal in the district for several years.
As nationwide testing becomes more uniform, with more complex questions, Port Jervis teachers are collaborating to prepare students to be able to succeed.
Having teachers work together rather than individually to develop course material, including unit plans, vocabulary, tests, and grading standards, has been instituted in stages since 2006.
Bell says passing rates on state tests have increased for grades three to eight from 42 percent in 2006 to "in the 70s" in 2011.
'Seven Habits' program
This year, Bell said, the district will also introduce a "character education" curriculum that will be integrated with the English curriculum, based on "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens" in the middle school and "The Seven Habits of Happy Kids" in the elementary schools. Both books are by Sean Covey, son of Stephen Covey; he wrote "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," which Bell is using to train teachers.
Covey's advice to "synergize" underlies the teacher collaborations. Bell first encountered the program at Delaware Valley Middle School, where he was assistant principal in the 1990s.
New school
Onofry to raise a contentious issue: "Talk of a new school scares people," he said. "So it keeps on being postponed. Every year we don't discuss it puts it off."
Board member Tom Sexton added that $20 million would be needed to build another school, and waiting until an emergency closing of the middle school was necessary would be untenable.
Lorelei Case, assistant superintendent, said a study is planned to assess the cost of keeping the middle school going.
School attendance
Onofry also suggested setting goals for improving attendance, but Superintendent John Xanthis said he felt that aiming for even a 1 percent improvement would be difficult to achieve because the same group of students was repeatedly absent. Instead he called for a goal of reducing absences by a half percent.
John Bell, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, suggested attendance incentives in the form of privileges. For instance, for older students, parking privileges and being allowed to go to a semi-formal prom would depend on their school attendance. For sixth-graders, the field trip to New York City, and, for eighth-graders, the field trip to Washington would also be privileges based on attendance.
In addition to attendance, goals continued from last year include improving graduation and college acceptance rates, attendance, testing scores, special education services, communication and "trust" between administration and school board, and between administration and the community.
The community tends to show up at board meetings before a budget vote, said Tranchina, the electrician. Then, he says, "some events spill into the hallway."
PORT JERVIS — When the Port Jervis School Board met last week to draft preliminary goals for 2011-12, school parking lots were crowded. But the goals getting attention were soccer goals outside on playing fields, not district goals.
The only people at the board meeting other than board members — several of whom were absent — were Nick Tranchina, the district electrician, who was filming the meeting, athletic director Jared Kahmar and a reporter.
So, microphones turned off, the board members conferred quietly about district goals, which will be confirmed on Aug. 9 when the absent board members return.
Improving literacy
Improving literacy was the first goal raised by School Board President Bill Onofry. He said the plan is to extend the guided reading literacy program begun at Hamilton Bicentennial Elementary to Anna S. Kuhl Elementary. The program involves having students read material at levels that challenge them, but not to the point of frustration.
Board member Catherine Sadhagiani said she also wanted to see literacy statistics on district reports next year.
Curriculum uniformity
John Bell, superintendent for instruction, said increasing curriculum uniformity has been a goal in the district for several years.
As nationwide testing becomes more uniform, with more complex questions, Port Jervis teachers are collaborating to prepare students to be able to succeed.
Having teachers work together rather than individually to develop course material, including unit plans, vocabulary, tests, and grading standards, has been instituted in stages since 2006.
Bell says passing rates on state tests have increased for grades three to eight from 42 percent in 2006 to "in the 70s" in 2011.
'Seven Habits' program
This year, Bell said, the district will also introduce a "character education" curriculum that will be integrated with the English curriculum, based on "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens" in the middle school and "The Seven Habits of Happy Kids" in the elementary schools. Both books are by Sean Covey, son of Stephen Covey; he wrote "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," which Bell is using to train teachers.
Covey's advice to "synergize" underlies the teacher collaborations. Bell first encountered the program at Delaware Valley Middle School, where he was assistant principal in the 1990s.
New school
Onofry to raise a contentious issue: "Talk of a new school scares people," he said. "So it keeps on being postponed. Every year we don't discuss it puts it off."
Board member Tom Sexton added that $20 million would be needed to build another school, and waiting until an emergency closing of the middle school was necessary would be untenable.
Lorelei Case, assistant superintendent, said a study is planned to assess the cost of keeping the middle school going.
School attendance
Onofry also suggested setting goals for improving attendance, but Superintendent John Xanthis said he felt that aiming for even a 1 percent improvement would be difficult to achieve because the same group of students was repeatedly absent. Instead he called for a goal of reducing absences by a half percent.
John Bell, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, suggested attendance incentives in the form of privileges. For instance, for older students, parking privileges and being allowed to go to a semi-formal prom would depend on their school attendance. For sixth-graders, the field trip to New York City, and, for eighth-graders, the field trip to Washington would also be privileges based on attendance.
In addition to attendance, goals continued from last year include improving graduation and college acceptance rates, attendance, testing scores, special education services, communication and "trust" between administration and school board, and between administration and the community.
The community tends to show up at board meetings before a budget vote, said Tranchina, the electrician. Then, he says, "some events spill into the hallway."
Trash surrounding collection bins concerns city
From the Time Herald-Record, sent via email:
PORT JERVIS — About a month ago, Port Jervis City Councilman Stan Siegel, 4th Ward, started hearing complaints about large metal bins for collecting clothing and shoes that were surrounded by trash.
He heard first about two on River Road between Kolmar and Skydine, around which were bags of trash, two old televisions and old chairs.
"People wondered why we allowed Dumpsters there," Siegel said. "We don't want to give the impression we allow illegal dump sites."
Also, while the bins were ostensibly for charity donations, no one knew who the collectors were or where the donations would go.
"The Salvation Army collects shoes and clothes for local people. We want to provide for locals first. And the Salvation Army keeps their collection under control," said Siegel.
As for electronics, he said, "Advanced Recovery on Mechanic Street recycles computers, TVs, radios, whatever."
So he started paying attention to bins on his daily rounds of the city — as did Wayne Kidney, a city building official.
The issue was discussed at a Code Committee meeting and a Common Council meeting. Councilman James Hendry, chairman of the Code Committee, put Siegel in charge.
"If it's really a nonprofit for the needy, work with them," Hendry added.
Siegel and Kidney saw bins on Fowler Street by Double M Vending, at 18 W. Main St. by Rhea Buick, by Texas Lunch on Jersey Avenue and at the Grand Union site.
"Temporary movable structures" are illegal on public property, except by special permission from the Planning Board, according to Kidney. If property owners allow them on private property, he said, the property owners are responsible for cleaning the area if the bin owners don't. "It's a civil matter between them," he said.
As for enforcement, the Common Council should decide, he said. "But a zoning law is already in place."
The large bins are "trash magnets," he added. "People aren't just bringing clothing. They bring everything, and leave it around the bins."
So far, he said, he has given no citations. The bins at Texas Lunch and the former Grand Union have been removed at the property owners' request. But other bins persist, and garbage proliferates.
"The two units between Kolmar and Skydine are obscure, so people dump there a lot," Kidney said.
Garbage bags and old furniture — a mirror and cabinets — strewn with garbage surrounded those bins this week. The scene on Fowler Street is similar, but less profuse.
Siegel said he intends to bring a proposal for laws governing containers to the next Common Council meeting.
"There's an illegal dumping law, but it's hazy about how to enforce it," he said. "A specific law would make enforcement easier.
"It's sad you have to create laws about common-sense issues," he added. "It's about quality of life. People should not have to see this on the street."
As for abandoned illegal bins, Hendry noted that scrap metal is valuable these days.
PORT JERVIS — About a month ago, Port Jervis City Councilman Stan Siegel, 4th Ward, started hearing complaints about large metal bins for collecting clothing and shoes that were surrounded by trash.
He heard first about two on River Road between Kolmar and Skydine, around which were bags of trash, two old televisions and old chairs.
"People wondered why we allowed Dumpsters there," Siegel said. "We don't want to give the impression we allow illegal dump sites."
Also, while the bins were ostensibly for charity donations, no one knew who the collectors were or where the donations would go.
"The Salvation Army collects shoes and clothes for local people. We want to provide for locals first. And the Salvation Army keeps their collection under control," said Siegel.
As for electronics, he said, "Advanced Recovery on Mechanic Street recycles computers, TVs, radios, whatever."
So he started paying attention to bins on his daily rounds of the city — as did Wayne Kidney, a city building official.
The issue was discussed at a Code Committee meeting and a Common Council meeting. Councilman James Hendry, chairman of the Code Committee, put Siegel in charge.
"If it's really a nonprofit for the needy, work with them," Hendry added.
Siegel and Kidney saw bins on Fowler Street by Double M Vending, at 18 W. Main St. by Rhea Buick, by Texas Lunch on Jersey Avenue and at the Grand Union site.
"Temporary movable structures" are illegal on public property, except by special permission from the Planning Board, according to Kidney. If property owners allow them on private property, he said, the property owners are responsible for cleaning the area if the bin owners don't. "It's a civil matter between them," he said.
As for enforcement, the Common Council should decide, he said. "But a zoning law is already in place."
The large bins are "trash magnets," he added. "People aren't just bringing clothing. They bring everything, and leave it around the bins."
So far, he said, he has given no citations. The bins at Texas Lunch and the former Grand Union have been removed at the property owners' request. But other bins persist, and garbage proliferates.
"The two units between Kolmar and Skydine are obscure, so people dump there a lot," Kidney said.
Garbage bags and old furniture — a mirror and cabinets — strewn with garbage surrounded those bins this week. The scene on Fowler Street is similar, but less profuse.
Siegel said he intends to bring a proposal for laws governing containers to the next Common Council meeting.
"There's an illegal dumping law, but it's hazy about how to enforce it," he said. "A specific law would make enforcement easier.
"It's sad you have to create laws about common-sense issues," he added. "It's about quality of life. People should not have to see this on the street."
As for abandoned illegal bins, Hendry noted that scrap metal is valuable these days.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
The only part of the Times Herald-Record I still visit
Record Newswatch July 19, 2011
Includes the Art Walk and the nitwit who electrocuted himself.
Includes the Art Walk and the nitwit who electrocuted himself.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Bank forecloses on Port mall
From the Times Herald-Record:
PORT JERVIS — A New York City bank has filed foreclosure papers on the shuttered mall at 100 Pike St.
BPD Bank claims the mall's owner, KT Associates of Amawalk, hasn't made payments on its $4.1 million mortgage since February. The bank filed foreclosure paperwork July 6.
The bank has been charging KT Associates 10.55 percent — the default interest rate — since March, according to court documents.
Port Jervis officials closed the building for safety reasons after a hard rain June 22, when an inspection found unstable ceilings with tiles falling to the floor and water dripping from electrical outlets. The shutdown put about 75 people out of work. Tenants Rite Aid and Dollar General and smaller mom-and-pop shops, including #1 Nails Plus, Brother Bruno's Pizza and the Laundry Station, closed their doors.
Engineer cites roof problems
Port Jervis' city engineer, Al Fusco, told the Common Council the mall would require extensive work on the roof, including new insulation and a mostly new roof deck, before it could be reopened. He also said the unoccupied part of the building, which used to house a Great American supermarket, was probably not salvageable.
So far, KT Associates has not responded to the city's attempts to contact them, city officials say.
Phone calls to Donald Tanen, a principal at KT Associates, were not returned this week.
In 2006, Tanen told the business publication "Entrepreneur" that he wanted to participate in the revitalization of downtown Port Jervis.
The impact the foreclosure action will have on the tenants isn't known.
Edward Feldman, a lawyer with Feldman & Associates PLLC in New York City, the firm representing BPD, said the bank doesn't have plans to terminate the leases, but it is an option. "I hear they are good tenants," Feldman said.
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PORT JERVIS — A New York City bank has filed foreclosure papers on the shuttered mall at 100 Pike St.
BPD Bank claims the mall's owner, KT Associates of Amawalk, hasn't made payments on its $4.1 million mortgage since February. The bank filed foreclosure paperwork July 6.
The bank has been charging KT Associates 10.55 percent — the default interest rate — since March, according to court documents.
Port Jervis officials closed the building for safety reasons after a hard rain June 22, when an inspection found unstable ceilings with tiles falling to the floor and water dripping from electrical outlets. The shutdown put about 75 people out of work. Tenants Rite Aid and Dollar General and smaller mom-and-pop shops, including #1 Nails Plus, Brother Bruno's Pizza and the Laundry Station, closed their doors.
Engineer cites roof problems
Port Jervis' city engineer, Al Fusco, told the Common Council the mall would require extensive work on the roof, including new insulation and a mostly new roof deck, before it could be reopened. He also said the unoccupied part of the building, which used to house a Great American supermarket, was probably not salvageable.
So far, KT Associates has not responded to the city's attempts to contact them, city officials say.
Phone calls to Donald Tanen, a principal at KT Associates, were not returned this week.
In 2006, Tanen told the business publication "Entrepreneur" that he wanted to participate in the revitalization of downtown Port Jervis.
The impact the foreclosure action will have on the tenants isn't known.
Edward Feldman, a lawyer with Feldman & Associates PLLC in New York City, the firm representing BPD, said the bank doesn't have plans to terminate the leases, but it is an option. "I hear they are good tenants," Feldman said.
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Thursday, July 14, 2011
VIDEO: Port Jervis School Board - July 12, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Fireworks, tsk, tsk, tsk...
From MidHudsonNews.com:
Zero tolerance for fireworks
PORT JERVIS – Fireworks stores in Pennsylvania across the Delaware River from Port Jervis contribute to the volume of illegally possessed and discharged fireworks in Port Jervis and elsewhere in New York, during the July 4th holiday weekend, but that city’s Police Chief William Worden has issued a warning. His department has a zero tolerance policy toward possession and use of fireworks within city limits.
Worden notes fireworks are illegal in New York State. Penalties range from seizure of the fireworks, a violation offense punishable with a fine, or potentially a misdemeanor punishable by a fine or up to one year in jail.
City police and fire department personnel will be extra vigilant throughout the holiday weekend to foster safety, the chief said.
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[In all honesty, this is one of those ideas that are great in theory, but difficult in practice. I live right where second ward meets fourth ward and they were shooting off fireworks last night, again.
The source of the problem is a flaw in Pennsylvania state law that allows fireworks to be sold to out of state residents. Until that is changed there will continue to be a good number of fireworks set off in town. - Steve]
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Zero tolerance for fireworks
PORT JERVIS – Fireworks stores in Pennsylvania across the Delaware River from Port Jervis contribute to the volume of illegally possessed and discharged fireworks in Port Jervis and elsewhere in New York, during the July 4th holiday weekend, but that city’s Police Chief William Worden has issued a warning. His department has a zero tolerance policy toward possession and use of fireworks within city limits.
Worden notes fireworks are illegal in New York State. Penalties range from seizure of the fireworks, a violation offense punishable with a fine, or potentially a misdemeanor punishable by a fine or up to one year in jail.
City police and fire department personnel will be extra vigilant throughout the holiday weekend to foster safety, the chief said.
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[In all honesty, this is one of those ideas that are great in theory, but difficult in practice. I live right where second ward meets fourth ward and they were shooting off fireworks last night, again.
The source of the problem is a flaw in Pennsylvania state law that allows fireworks to be sold to out of state residents. Until that is changed there will continue to be a good number of fireworks set off in town. - Steve]
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