By Tom Grace
Cooperstown News Bureau
April 29, 2008 04:00 am NEW BERLIN _ New Berlin Mayor Carol Riley wants a condemned building at the village four corners fixed up or torn down, pronto, but a bankruptcy petition may delay action. The three-story, 19th-century brick structure was condemned by the Chenango County Code Enforcement Office on Jan. 9. Tenants were told to leave the building immediately, and it was posted and roped off to keep pedestrians from being hit by falling bricks. Three-and-a-half months later, little has changed. "I can understand forcing people out of their homes if it was a dangerous situation, but what I don't understand is why the county isn't addressing the danger,'' Riley said Monday. "That building is worse now than it was in January and it gets a little worse every day,'' she said. ``Are we going to wait until it falls over to do something about this?'' Bricks have been dropping off the top of the building, but the snow fence and saw horses blocking the sidewalk at the center of the village have become a public nuisance, she said. ``I've seen people in wheelchairs having to go out into the state highway to get past the barricade and I'm losing patience,'' said Riley. ``Someone needs to come in here immediately and either make that building safe or tear it down.'' Code enforcement in the village of New Berlin is handled by the Chenango County Code Enforcement Office. On Monday, Bruce Bates, the county's code enforcement officer, said he sympathizes with Riley, but can't act because the building's owner, Kenneth George of Morris, has filed for bankruptcy. ``I do think that building poses a danger, but we can't take it down until this bankruptcy issue is resolved,'' he said. Although the historic building may appear to be nearly worthless, its value needs to be determined by a bankruptcy court before the county can act, he said. The matter is being handled by Assistant Chenango County Attorney Steven Natoli, Bates said. Natoli could not be reached for comment Monday. Chenango County Attorney Richard Breslin declined to comment on the situation. New Berlin Village Attorney David Merzig said he does not believe the bankruptcy issue should interfere with the Codes Office's obligations to maintain public safety. ``That's certainly not our position, and we sent a letter to the Codes Office about a month ago, asking them to take action,'' he said. George, who operates Hilltop Appliance in Morris, could not be reached for comment. An employee of his business said she was generally aware of the situation, but could not comment about it. Situated alongside Paper Mill Brook, the building is part of the New Berlin Historic District, a status that can protect it from demolition by a municipality, but not by an owner. The lone casualty of the flood that struck New Berlin in 1905 was found in the basement of this building at the foot of West Hill, according Barbara Avery, village historian. Through the years, it has housed a restaurant, a dentist's office, Dyke's Drug Store and Donna Frech's School of Dance, among other businesses.
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