Found guilty of not properly maintaining three plate-glass windows, the owner of Newberry Square in Cobleskill may appeal last week’s decision from village court.
A six-person jury found Harry Ioannou guilty of violating the building code in village court Wednesday.
The jury found Mr. Ioannou not guilty of a second charge, failing to maintain the glazing “free of cracks and holes” in the three windows.
Sentencing by Justice Richard Hamm on Tuesday could include fines. Codes call for a fine of $1,000 per day, so from the original citation on March 13 to August 6, theoretically the total fine could be $146,000.
But Mr. Ioannou’s attorney, Ed Wildove, said Monday that he’s “strongly considering” appealing the case to Schoharie County Court.
Mr. Wildove has 30 days after Tuesday’s sentencing to file a notice of appeal.
And by Tuesday, Mr. Ioannou was working on the windows to make them weathertight.
The windows were broken during a March 1 snowstorm, and Mr. Ioannou covered them with waferboard––first thought to be plywood––the next day.
Codes Enforcement Office Mike Piccolo cited Mr. Ioannou with an “order to remedy” on March 3 and on March 13, issued an appearance ticket for failing to comply.
Four court dates and postponements followed, leading to Wednesday’s jury trial that included just two witnesses, Mr. Piccolo and Mr. Ioannou.
With Mr. Piccolo testifying, village attorney Meredith Savitt argued that the waferboard did make the windows “in sound condition, good repair and weathertight.”
Mr. Piccolo also testified that waferboard is weaker than plywood and that the repair job didn’t secure the windows.
Ms. Savitt had Mr. Piccolo describe, with photos, the waferboard repairs that were braced by 2x-4s.
“It’s not weathertight. You can put your hand through there,” Mr. Piccolo said, referring to places where the boards meet.
Ed Wildove, Mr. Ioannou’s attorney, contended that nothing in the building code says that broken windows must be replaced with glass.
“I tried to secure it as much as possible so nobody would get hurt,” Mr. Ioannou said.
On March 21, he got an estimate to replace the windows with glass. Earlier, Mr. Ioannou said he couldn’t afford the $3,500 for the windows.
Mr. Wildove tried to argue that other buildings in Cobleskill have boarded windows but owners haven’t been cited.
But Ms. Savitt objected, countering that the condition of other buildings was irrelevant.
Justice Hamm agreed.
“Stop! We’re here about Newberry’s, not some other building,” Justice Hamm told Mr. Wildove.
In his closing argument, Mr. Wildove maintained that Mr. Ioannou complied with the code.
“He’s done what the code required,” he said.
As the case gained attention through the spring many complained that the boarded windows were an eyesore.
But in her closing argument, Ms. Savitt countered that “it is not a case about whether the building is pretty” but whether the building has remained in sound condition.
“Even though he had an estimate March 21, he remained in violation,” she added. “He’s chosen to remain in violation. There’s no excuse for that.”
The jury deliberated for about 15 minutes before returning.
Mr. Piccolo said afterward that he didn’t expect a guilty verdict on the glazing because “there’s no glass.”
But he was satisfied on the guilty verdict.
“The jury did what they needed to do,” Mr. Piccolo said. “They got it right.”
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On Tuesday, Mr. Ioannou was replacing the waferboard with plywood, claiming the windows would be weathertight.
“They said the windows weren’t weathertight,” he said. “Now they will be.”