Neighbor of junk yard gets deadline
Town officials have given the owner of the property at 1019 state Route 213 until Sunday, Oct. 23, to remove cars and car parts that have spilled over from Buck’s Junk Yard.
The requirement was discussed Thursday at a Town Board meeting, when officials said Astoria resident John Perrakis received the violation notice on Sept. 23 and had 30 days to comply.
“The structure immediately next to Buck’s Junk Yard has been sent an order to remedy because it’s becoming just as bad as Buck’s,” town Building Inspector Kathy Moniz said. “They’ve created a junk yard without a licence or without a site plan, so we’re hoping to hear back from them.”
Supervisor James Quigley said a building on neighboring property “seems to have been appropriated by Buck’s and he’s got junk on it.”
Neither Perrakis nor Buck’s owner, Don Mackenzie, could be reached Friday for comment.
Ulster County records show that Perrakis purchased the property for a dollar on June 11, 1999, from Buck’s Scrap Iron.
Town Attorney Jason Kovacs said a request will be made next week for the state Supreme Court to order that Buck’s Junk Yard be shut down.
“I’m asking the court for a permanent injunction terminating junk yard operations on the subject parcel,” he said. “It should be filed next week. Hopefully, we’ll have a decision ... in December or so.”
The court case against Mackenzie was authorized in June 2015 following years
of efforts to force compliance with town zoning regulations. Officials want the court to issue a stop-work order based on the absence of a state licenses to work on vehicles. In 2011, Mackenzie challenged a stop-work order, but was rejected by the town Zoning Board of Appeals. However, later in the year, he was given conditional site plan approval after terms for property improvements were set. Town Board members on Nov. 1, 2012, turned down a permit for Mackenzie to continue operating at the site after determining he had not met the conditions.
Mackenzie in August
2013 was turned down again after asking the town Zoning Board of Appeals to overturn orders to end operations. He appealed that decision in December 2013 by suing in state Supreme Court, but lost in a ruling issued in July 2014.
Efforts to stop operations began after a March 25, 2010, investigation by the state Department of Environmental Conservation resulted in citations for hazardous waste violations for failing to maintain records about the end-of-life vehicle dates; not having a contingency plan for fires, spills, release of vehicle fluids; receiving unauthorized materials; improper fluid draining, removal and collection; and not properly storing or marking fluid storage containers.