Rockland County, NY – A Ramapo fire inspector who is accused of giving passing grades to private schools that were found to be in violation of the state’s fire code has been reassigned to desk duty.
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As previously reported on VIN News, Adam Peltz’s approval of four schools, Green Meadow Waldorf School, Rockland Institute for Special Education, Bais Yehuda and an unspecified Bais Yaakov seemed questionable, with serious violations discovered in all four schools. As a result, Peltz’s work in numerous other schools was called into question, prompting calls for the intervention by the Rockland County fire coordinator.
Peltz’s work is being reviewed and re-inspected by the Ramapo Building Department and the town attorney’s office, as reported by The Journal News. Michael Klein, an attorney for the Town of Ramapo, said that the review should be completed by next week. The results of the investigation would determine if Peltz is cleared to return to his job or terminated.
“He is not doing inspections until the investigation concludes,” said Klein.
An unnamed school official defended Peltz’s work, saying that the Ramapo fire inspector had initially failed his school, only awarding the institution a passing grade once violations had been corrected, according to News 12.
Local elected officials have been clamoring for change in the way buildings are inspected in Ramapo, with county executive Ed Day calling on the state to give the county the authority to take over the process and Assemblyman Kenneth Zebrowski calling for stronger enforcement and more stringent inspections because of what he called an “emergency situation.” Zebrowski also demanded a public hearing on the issue and called for the state to take over safety inspections in Ramapo.
Both Zebrowski and Senator David Carlucci have asked the state to withhold funding from private schools that do not submit their fire safety reports on time.
One yeshiva spokesman on the news said this is just about antisemitism and all yeshivas are safe. If you have kinder in these yeshivas, you need to demand safety. If your child dies in a fire, will you also say the investigation is only about antisemitism?
I wish Cuomo was as ethical as Zebrowski and Carlucci are, these guys stand for whats right.
Just curious: what exactly were the “serious safety violations”?
I will bet fire safety bells that should be tested regularly were disconnected or silenced.and on and on and on. Fire doors, fire escape drills, lock downs, evacuations all supposed to be rehearsed……nada
Just like the majority of jewish schools in older buildigs in other cities including mine.