NEW Ytj??is?; 
December 19, 2018

Secretary of State Rossana Rosado
Department of State

One Commerce Plaza, 99 Washington Ave
Albany, NY 12231-0001

Dear Secretary Rosado:

The Department of State informed our of?ces on December 18th that the state monitor in the Town of
Ramapo?s Building Department would be removed.

This announcement came with little notice to our of?ces-following a new report, which was not
released to us prior to the decision. The Department of State claims the report will show Ramapo has
made signi?cant improvements in safety and zoning code enforcement.

When the report is submitted to our of?ces we will have additional comments based upon the
speci?c ?ndings and recommendations. In the interim, however, we would like to establish a

mechanism where we can ensure current and future building code concerns are properly evaluated
and addressed.

Our tOp priority is the safety of our residents and ?rst reSponders. Illegal partitions in apartments,
basements and attics put the lives of ?rst responders and residents in jeopardy. In addition, imprOper
temporary COS, temporary structures, inadequate ?re suppression, illegal electric and water hookups,
de?cient turning radius and parking conditions and insuf?cient access for ?re apparatus can all lead
to injury or death. We want to ensure that all our municipalities take this situation seriously. In the
case of Ramapo, however, where the state has already found de?ciencies, we want the public to be
assured that tangible progress will continue to be achieved.

We respectfully request that the Department of State supply our of?ces with a dedicated liaison that
we can consult with for complaints and questions from ?rst responders, residents and of?cials. In
addition, we respectfully request that Department order the municipality to set up a formal process
where our of?ce can submit similar complaints. We are concerned that throughout this oversight
process, the expertise and experiences of our fire department of?cials and other community
advocates was not preperly utilized. We believe a formalized and robust process to receive future
complaints could help ?ll this gap and ensure future dangerous situations are prOperly addressed.

As we look to the future, we look forward to reviewing your ?nal report and hope to work with the
Department to further improve our communities.

?aw

Senator David Carlucci Ken Zebrowski Ellen Jaffee
38th Senate District Assembly District 96 Assembly District 97

Sincerely,