City of Syracuse

Timeline of Department Engagement

Skyline Apartments - 753 James Street

Dates Department Activity

9/10/2018 Fire Fire alarm violation - elevators not working properly in fire service
9/28/2018 Fire 9/10/18 violation corrected
12/11/2018 Fire Lock box violation - damaged key box
Petition filed in NY State Supreme Court for inoperable elevators. (See
12/19/2018 Law
3/4/19, Aug 2019 and 10/17/19 notes)
1/8/2019 Fire 12/11/18 lock box violation corrected
2/1/2019 Fire Fire alarm violation - outdated detectors in common space
2/26/2019 Fire 2/1/19 fire alarm violation corrected
Judge Tormey granted judgement for $4,600 plus costs, disbursements
3/4/2019 Law
and 9% interest. Property owner did not appear in court).

3/23/2019 Fire Fire alarm violation - common space detector not connected to system
4/10/2019 Fire Blocked exits violation - front exit doors pinned shut - corrected
5/8/2019 Fire Fire alarm violation (3/23/19) corrected
Filed petition in NY State Supreme Court for failure to repair hot water
7/2/2019 Law
boiler. (see 11/13/19 note)
7/25/2019 Codes Former Director of Codes Towsley met with tenants and Sharon Sherman

City of Syracuse Codes, Fire, NBD, Law and SPD all work in conjunction to
August, 2019 Joint
bring issues at 753 James St. to the attention of Greenland Properties.
Former Director of Codes Towsley met with inspectors re: issues in the
8/6/2019 Codes
building
8/21/2019 and Joint site visits conducted by City of Syracuse Codes, Fire, NBD, Law and
Joint
8/22/19 SPD
Capt. Fougnier and Lt. Holtman attended Skyline Apt Tenant association
Aug. 2019 to
SPD meetings to speak with residents and Sharon Sherman in order to discuss
Nov. 2019
problems and gain insight.
Aug. 2019 to Officers from all 3 watches are directed to conduct property checks of in
SPD
Dec. 2019 the Skyline apartment parking lots
City intercepted rents from a commercial tenant in the building and as a
August, 2019 Law
result, the judgment was satisfied. Collected a total of $5,217.55.
10/17/2019 Law Elevators in compliance
Appeared in court re: 7/2/19 court filing. Owner repaired the boiler while
the case was pending in court. Judge Neri discontinued the case for only
11/13/2019 Law
the City’s costs and did not impose a judgment for the $100/day penalty
for the time period the hot water was an issue.

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 Dates Department Activity
Deputy Chief Trudell and Capt. Fougnier met with Skyline Mgt, Stephanie
Pasquale and other City Officials at City Hall to discuss the problems that
12/6/2019 SPD
were occurring and we provided a list of recommendations to Skyline
management in order to attack the problem. This included the following:
24/7 on site security
Management needs to be on site to address resident problems as they
arise (Evict problem tenants)
Entrances/Exits need to be limited and secured (Secure Building)
ID for all residents and procedures for visitors to enter building(Key fob
for entry)
Staff should be at the main doors at all times to monitor people coming
and going
Coordinate with Helio Health to address their problem tenants
Secure Trespass Affidavits and prosecute people who are not allowed
on the property
Provided Nate Hughes, Skyline Mgt, with stats that he requested for
12/10/2019 SPD
yearly call volumes
All of our efforts improve the conditions at 753 James St. and the call
Mar. 2020 SPD
load decreases. (See SPD summary)
Several tips of drug activity come in for the Skyline apts. Officers from
July 2020 to
SPD each watch are again assigned to conduct property checks in the parking
Aug. 2020
lots.
Intel Detectives who are monitoring the Skyline make another drug
7/9/20 SPD
arrest.
Intel Detectives who are monitoring the Skyline make another drug
7/20/20 SPD
arrest.
Multiple departments and Councilors Greene and Allen contacted by
8/16/20 NBD
Sharon Sherman re: conditions in the building. Security is the main issue.

Mayor Walsh receives a complaint about drugs and quality of life issues
9/15/2020 SPD at the Skyline. Michael Collins, Jake Dishaw of Codes, Chief Elton Davis
and Capt. Fougnier are all notified to address the issues

11/5/2020 Codes Director contacts Nate Hughes to discuss issues at Skyline

11/9/2020 NBD Commissioner met with Sharon Sherman re: issues at Skyline
Commissioner and Director of Codes meet with Developer "A" re:
11/10/2020 NBD
interest in purchasing Skyline Apartments
Commissioner and Dep. Commissioner met with Developer "B"
12/3/2020 NBD interested in a different housing development and suggested they
consider Skyline as well

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 Dates Department Activity
Spent 4 weeks investigating a mental health issue at 753 James St.
involving a pick up order. Incident started as a barricaded subject with a
12/23/20 to 24 hour around the clock SPD presence with Patrol, SWAT, CIT, HNT and
SPD
1/19/21 Liberty Resources. Follow-up continued for the next 4 weeks with checks
were made almost daily at this apartment building for the individual in
questions.
Developer "A" contacts the department re: interested in purchasing the
1/7/2021 NBD
property. They are directed to contact listing agent
SPD receives a complaint from Constituent Services regarding issues at
1/25/21 SPD
753 James St.
1/26/21 SPD Capt Fougnier contacts tenant for more information.
NBD meets with Developer "C" about development opportunities in
1/28/21 NBD
Syracuse. Suggest Skyline
SPD receives a complaint from Constituent Services regarding issues at
1/31/21 SPD
753 James St.
Met with Codes Director Jake Dishaw and Constituent Services to discuss
2/1/21 SPD
a plan for building inspection based on recent complaints.
Skyline WebEx meeting with D/C Trudell, Jake Dishaw, Capt. Fougnier
and Emma Spector. Discuss need for a unscheduled inspection. Dishaw
2/2/21 Joint
organizing all parties involved. (County Health Officials, SPD, SFD, &
NBD)
Department requests that homeless/eviction prevention programs no
2/4/21 NBD
longer place anyone at Skyline
Unscheduled joint inspection conducted by County Health, Codes, Fire,
Police, and NBD all conduct site visit at 753 James St. at 1500 hrs.
2/5/21 Joint
Violations observed and cited can be discussed by Codes, Fire, and
Health Department.
Mayor Walsh makes call to Skyline ownership to express his concerns
2/9/21 Mayor
following the unscheduled joint inspection.
Spinkler violation- control valves with locks or electrical supervision need
2/9/21 Fire to be properly identified. Locking Fire Department Connection cap
missing
Followed up with Developer "B" re: continued interest and connection
2/9/21 NBD
with listing broker.
2/17/21 NBD Contacted by Developer "B" interested in purchase
2/19/21 Codes Joint Codes/County Health Department inspection
SPD conducts a strong armed robbery investigation at 753 James St. The
2/19/21 SPD officers identify suspect during the course of the investigation and make
an arrest.
Capt. Fougnier reaches out to Jake Dishaw about a site visit. Advised
2/24/21 SPD that there is a meeting 2/26/21 at City Hall with the Deputy Mayor, Chief
Cecile, Mike Collins and Greg Loh to discuss.
Capt. Fougnier sends Sgt. Blake to 753 James St. to speak with
2/25/21 SPD
management about issues at the apartment complex.
CNYCAC asked to provide stats on apartment building and provides
2/25/21 SPD analysis showing that the police responded to 525 calls at the Skyline
between 9/1/20 and 2/24/21.
2/26/21 Codes Joint inspection County Health, Codes, Fire, Police and NBD

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Dates Department Activity
Mar-21 SPD Review of property call for Nuisance Abatement
4 Notice of Violation Tickets issued to owners. All 4 violations were
3/4/21 BAA General Property Maintenance violations for the condition of the
stairways/hallway (Trash/Debris, feces, fresh paint, handrail)
4 Notice of Violation Tickets served to owners. All 4 violations were
3/11/21 BAA General Property Maintenance violations for the condition of the
stairways/hallway (Trash/Debris, feces, fresh paint, handrail)
3/18/21 BAA Guilty plea entered and payment of $600 ($150/violation) paid
Joint inspection Mayor Walsh, County Health, Codes, Fire, Police and
3/19/21 Joint
NBD
SPD starts off duty police presence at Skyline Apartments. 4 officers, 6
3/19/21 SPD hrs per day, 7 days a week. Detail is now 4 days a week. 2 officers, 6 hrs
per day
3/22/21 BAA Case closed and referred to codes and law department
3/22/21 SPD Law drafted Notice of Nuisance
3/23/21 SPD Chief signed Notice of Nuisance
3/24/21 SPD Nuisance Notice posed on property
Unfit declaration and stop rent issued due to common area unsanitary
3/23/21 Codes
condition in stairwells and maintenance of elevators
3/24/21 Fire Sprinker violation case closed
Filed a petition in NY State Supreme Court for elevator new elevator
3/25/21 Law
violation (see filed petition)
3/30/21 Fire Fire safety violation - storage of gas powered bikes in apt 12/12-open
Faulty Equipment violation - Fire alarm in trouble mode - elevator in fire
3/30/21 Fire service prior to arrival - issues reslved - awaiting documentation from fire
alarm company
Mayor, Deputy Mayor, NBD Commissioner, Director of Codes and Capt.
3/31/21 Joint Fougnier meet with leadership of Tenant Association and Sharon
Sherman.
Sharon Sherman reaches out to Capt. Fougnier about the issues at the
3/31/21 SPD Skyline. Capt. Fougnier offers to meet via a virtual meeting or telephone
call to discuss.
Mayor,NBD Commissioner, Director of Codes and Capt. Fougnier meet
4/3/21 Joint
with leadership of Tenant Association and Sharon Sherman.
4/21/21 Law Court date in NY State Supreme Court re: elevator violation
5/10/21 SPD Scheduled Nuisance Abatement Hearing date

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 Codes Data Summary

Violation Summary Totals

2018 19
2019 34
2020 13
2021 30 as of 4/11/21

Current Status as of 4/11/21

Open Complaint Case 8
Open Violations 19

Unfit Violation will stand until elevators are repaired and sanitary conditions of common areas are maintained
Elevator Case being pursued in court
Certificate of Compliance Cited: State mandated periodic inspection of multiple dwelling unit. The entire
building and each dwelling unit will require an inspection
 SPD Supplimentary Information

March 2020 - Neighborhood Stability Goal – Improve stability in quality of life pilot areas by 20%. We
are succeeding at this goal with a 26% reduction in calls for service in the pilot areas. The 700 blk
James St. was a the most recent success with other successes being the 1500 blk E. Genesee St. and
700 Butternut St.. Currently the blocks assigned are the 600 W. Onondaga St. and 900 James St.
 SFD Data Summary

SFD RESPONSES TO 753 JAMES STREET

YEAR FIRE EMS TOTAL
2018 79 117 196
2019 117 172 289
2020 117 87 204
2021 65 46 111

1/1/18 TO DATE 378 422 800

SFD RESPONSES TO 753 JAMES STREET

(PERCENTAGE)
YEAR FIRE EMS
2018 40.30% 59.70%
2019 40.50% 59.50%
2020 57.40% 42.60%
2021 58.60% 41.40%

1/1/18 TO DATE 47.30% 52.80%