Suu of ?{ru{ofi"
I,)aifu[Court Systen
25 cBoaarStrcet

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07 Nwtor{,
(212) 428-2100

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tuwrerueKtWafrl

May 31,2019

Cti$XtniaisrttiwXr/g
Hon. Richard Thomas

Mayor

Cityof Mount Vernon

I Roosevelt

Square

Mount Vernon, New

Re:

York

10550

Molrnt Vernon City court-.oneoine Mqintenancc Issues

(UCS]-ana
I write to report, once again, the serious concerrut of the Unified Court System
the Mount Vernon City
the Office of Court eOministraiion iOCn) over the current condition of
gourt .ri*ing from the City's ongoing inability to clcan and maintain that facility properly.
we have
RegretfablylOir ir not our frrst comirunication on this subject ov-er many months,
which
have had
all
of
of cleaning and maintenance problems at the facility,
ipi*a
"i"urtituar
vernon. In addition' we have
an adverse impact upon court elmployees and the ieoplq of Mount
problems in air
serious
reported on nurn rous occasions iertain structrual deficiencies proper
use. Our efforts to
conditioning *iir, *aroof leakage - that compromise the building's
proved fruitless. In
resolve tttese proUiems through joint discussion and cooperative action have
its power
iscxercising
consequencr, thi, letter will J.rve us notice that tlre Court System
-.
p*rr*t to naiciary Law g39(3Xa) to notiry the Comptroller to withhold State aid to the City in
provide appropriate court
an appropriate arnount untii thi City nrtfrtnits sututory obligation to
proper clearring and
the
faciliiies'for public use. Concurrently, we will take steps to assure
maintenance of that facilitY.
and forwarded
In brief recapitulation: for a lengthy period of time, the UCS has received
conditions within
to the City reports from local court adrn-inistiators describing the unsatisfactory
representatives
the Mount Vernon City Courthouse. As early as September 2013, OCA
conditions, areas of
inspected the courthouse and observed sub-siandard-cleanliness and hygiene
,"uiodu*uge due to roof and facade leaks, and evidence of possible mold growth. Numerous
followed- In April
additional *poJon these conditions weremade to the City in they_ears that
Commissioner
Works
201g, OCA representatives met with the City's new Department of Public
an opportunity to rectify
discuss ttre issue anJagreea to delay further action to allow the CiB
to

the continuing deficiencies.

ultimately
The unacceptable conditions persisted throughout the summer of 2018,
resulting
September,
in
culminating in a failure of the building's ccntral air conditioning system
Despite numerous
in unhealthy temperatures within the couffooms and adjacent court oftices.
was compelled to
the
UCS
taken:
was
action
no
this
system,
tt City repair
rcquests UiOCe

t.t

"

 rent porrable air conditioning units-- noisy, disruptive, and expensive
reliefto cou(room users during this crisii.

-

simply to bring marginal

In october 20!8, in response to the faiture ofthe air condirioning system, court
slstem
rcpresentatives met with city representatives, including yourserf, ro disJuss
ore ongoing-'
problems. in the court facility; at that meeting we proriied
reports ofcleaning and irainieuance

deficiencies' To dale, none of tlre issues discussei at that rneeting have u..ripr"f"iiy
.a-Ji.r."a.
jle,.bur]dilc,: tobby doors faile<l in the open position, teavin! our court security
ofircers exposed to single-digit temperatures. The city failed to
complete any-repairs and the
Court System was forced to hire a contraclor to repaii rhe doors.

1*T:T30-t

.

sum: despite our many meetings - and even despitc efforts to provide you
with state
.
-In
aid to the extent permitled by law to conect these deficiencies
those
isiues
remain
unaddressed. (For.examprc, we undersrand that, notwithstanding the approactrinjium*er

season,.the air

conditioning system has nor been repaired.) As a iesult,iire courtiystem is
undertaking several steps to assure lhe continued operation ofthe city court
,na", upfrop.iut"
conditions: (l) renting ofportable A/C units and initalling them in the courrroom.;
tiir"iuining
vrndors.to perform cleaning and routine maintenauc" s"rii.".; and (3) assessiug
fo,
the building's air conditioning syslem and roof/facade leaks.

.rjrir.r;i,

A-r-y9u ol9 au,are, pursuant to the Court Faciliries Act (L. 19g7, c. g25)
and rhe Rules of
^. . Judge (22
the-chief
NYCRR 34. r,-34.2), rhe ciry of Mounr virnon is iesponsible to, p.oriJirg
and- maintaining a courthouse that is suitable and sufficient for the
transaciion of coujbusir""r.
In the event that the Chief Adnrinistrative Judge detelmines that tlre Ciry has
foifJ to ."elif,is
duty,.he may notify the conptroller of the valire of the unmet obligation, and the
colnptroit..
will deducr rhat anount from srare aid payable to rhe municipalitylrua. La*
sist:tr"D. w"
anticipate that this notice will issue to tlre comptroller in the'very near future.-

.

To provide you with an approximation ofthe porential withholding by rhe comptroller,
we obtained a cosl estimate for the proper repair the building,s air conditiining
sysrem, which
totaled $1.33 million. We are also in the process of obtaining similar estimatel for

.

r"p.ir"

to

he roofand fagade leaks, as rvell as the poor perlorriance ofthe elevators, both of whictr
will supplement the estimate for the air conditioriing repairs.
address

.. _, The withholding of state aid isaserious step, and not one which tlre court system takes
lightly. However, in light of the history of inaction on these important problems, we deem that
step necessary and appropriate. Ifyou have any questions about rhis process, the ocA Facilities
counsel, william clark (212428-2965), is available to discuss the matter at your convenience.
ocA's Facilities coordinator,_ shawn watemrau (212428-zg7l), rvill reach out to your
office in the near future to discuss and coordinate the provision ofcleaning services by ucb
vendors as described above.
Very truly yours,

I

l