Certifications lapsed
Mayor unaware, but promises coursework will be taken
7 comments below
Greenport Mayor David Nyce is shrugging it off, but it appears that both building inspector Eileen Wingate and village administrator David Abatelli aren't certified to do their jobs.
According to an e-mail from Samuel Ricotta at the New York Department of State Division of Code Enforcement and Administration, neither official has completed the coursework necessary to maintain their certifications. The e-mail was sent to village resident Margaret Richards in response to an inquiry. Ms. Richards has had several encounters with the two officials over what she has charged was their failure to enforce codes at Kaplan's Market, adjacent to her Kaplan Avenue home. Earlier this month, Ms. Wingate issued a stop-work order to Ms. Richards for roof repairs the resident said were being made on an emergency basis because water was seeping into her kitchen. It prompted Ms. Richards to question why Ms. Wingate was so quick to issue the stop-work order when she had overlooked other projects in the village that lacked building permits.
According to state records, Ms. Wingate was initially certified as a code enforcement official in 2006 and, while she maintained certification through 2007, she is "deficient of the 24 hours of in-service training required by regulation," Mr. Ricotta said. She took seven hours of training in 2007 and 21 hours in 2008, according to state records.
A state cutback in courses has made it difficult to schedule classes, Ms. Wingate said. However, she takes continuing education classes regularly, both toward that certification and because she seeks certification as an urban planner.
"I don't know any other 51-year-old woman who spends as much time in the classroom as I do," she said. To any who might criticize her for not acting as harshly toward those who fail to follow village codes, she said, "I perceive my job as somebody who sits at a desk and tries to straighten out the messes [applicants] have created." A more aggressive approach wouldn't likely be more effective, she said.
"Although the training requirements have not been fulfilled by either individual during 2008 in order to maintain their certification for 2009 pursuant to regulation, there is no provision in the regulation providing for the revocation or suspension of a code enforcement official certification," Mr. Ricotta said. It's incumbent on the local government to ensure that people it employs have fulfilled their training requirements, he said.
Mr. Abatelli acknowledged not having completed the 21 hours, but said he thought he had done more than seven hours.
A "paucity" of classes being offered for certification is part of the problem, Mr. Abatelli said. At the same time, he denied that it would stop either him or Ms. Wingate from being able to do their jobs, including granting building permits or issuing stop-work orders.
"It becomes a little tricky in an all-out battle with an applicant," he said.
Mr. Nyce said he thought both were certified, but that he would look into it and ensure that they take necessary courses if their certifications have lapsed.
jlane@timesreview.com
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7 comments found
school : 2/3/2009
wingate says 51 year old goes to all these classes well the answer is easy all bldg insp in this state with the only 2 insp failing to do the bare minimum yep you guesed it our two are the only ones out of a couple hundred in the state and she wines about a political vendetta only in this gov is it a political situation when our public employees are asked to do rhe job they were hired to do
smoke and mirrors : 2/3/2009
you plainly have something to hide tell me how pointing out facts is critisism?? and exactly who do you think is trying to do right by the village abatelli and winggate ??? they have yet to do thier jobs but you are right they arent critisising and yes it is an open fact that these two are trying 1 not to do thier job 2never to send the state required paper work 3 dont bother with with the mandatory training and worse wingate says no 50 old spends has much classroom time only she didnt take these course while all other inspectors around the state manage to do this so if this is what you call trying then you got it unfortunetly for you most of us in the village do not approve of the way these two cretins are trying to kill the village plus almost all of us are tired of paying people that refuse to do thier job
creepy : 2/2/2009
yes a phony such has your self would try to change the subject from the fact that abatelli and wingate have failed to do the very minimum of state requirements to lets parse a letter this is and age old tactic so for historical perspective it was this exact same smoke and mirrors that led to krystil nacht & jim crow laws and the list is endless one fact is clear though you are afraid of what is coming out about these 2 people i urge you to fix what ever it is you want hidden because you will get caught and do not pretend to not know me also i think its high time i pointed out yet another fact you want hidden the paper vets all coments for truth and facts before they print it so try to be a little less feeble in your slanders and try the truth for once
: 2/1/2009
OK, two out of three comments here have been extremely creepy run-on sentence ramblings from someone with no respect for the English language whatsoever. So hey, if this person is a product of Greenport, then its government does not surprise me either. And I'd rather take the one who tries over the one who criticizes -- anonymously and very badly, by the way.
: 1/29/2009
Mr. Mayor - you knew! You let them get away with not filing a simple report of their year's activities with the State in January 2008 (even tho they were notified in 2007 it would be required). Did they file this month? Have any of the zoning and planning board members taken classes yet? (after taking an exemption last year too). It seems we don't WANT to understand Code and follow it.
classes : 1/29/2009
only the greenport village bldg dep cant get certified and whats worse only in this village does the resumes of wingate and abatelli get shorter and not longer check with any other municipality and you will find that their employees take the certification courses but also take many many hours of training in all aspects of bldg and fire code safety well fine but let me let the village and its residents in on a little fact if these two morons take anyong to court they will lose as a matter of fact both of these officials are scared to death that the kaplan market goes back to court not only will the gordons lose more then the bldg but both wingate and abatelli will be faceing more then 10 years in jail apiece and thats only the mister meaner charges not the felony charges so to all we do not have a bldg dep and only a total idiot would allow either of them to have thier name on any of thier property files let alone a C\O on account of it will not hold up in court hence these two officials are destrying your property values would you hire a plumber to set a broken leg??? well dealing with these two people is actualy worse then that so villager beware the only place in this state where village property records count is in the village the state on the other hand says they do not why is this you ask well thats easy if state records say single family dwelling our records say 2 family dwelling now we have many many 3 or more family units in the village that do not meet any code at all and must be fixed before i repeat before they can take you to court or they risk a summery judgement at worst at best a summery judgement bottom line keep your eyes open and demand judicial oversight thier games will not work that way and you safe gaurd you home and yes new york state courts will protect you from them not to mention we are all covered under the whistle blowers law that prevents retaliation so simply ignore them after all its been more then 7 years now that the kaplan market has been ilegal and never ever cited this is just one example i will not disclose others right now has i do not want to tip any villages hand to abatelli and or wingate also if either bothers you call the police and have them arrested for harrassment also get every thing in writeing from them i no for a fact their letters to me killed there case against me
same old bull : 1/29/2009
if you people think i will have anything to do with these two felons your high and fortunatly nyce does not sit on the judges bench the only cooperation i will give this bldg dep is before a judge let them lie to the court that the classes arent given or what ever excuse they want bottom line is only greenport village has this problem the rest of the state does not so nyce either get rid of them or according to state law you can and will be found guilty of aiding and abetting in multipule felonys well we all know the track record mr mayor do not lie to me about this it is serious and it is on going you said you were change well you blew it i gues you and gw bush are of the same ilk both of you can not read code and both praise and promote incompatence. you thaught they were certified i got a bridge for sale in the city so what i can expect your check in what a day or two?
