Mold infestation forces Sullivan Chamber of Commerce to move

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Mold infestation forces Sullivan Chamber of Commerce to move out

Times Herald-Record - Middletown,NY*

By Adam Bosch

Times Herald-Record

September 19, 2008

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?

AID=/20080919/BIZ/80919017

MONTICELLO — The Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce has moved out

of its Broadway office because its boardroom has been infested with

black mold for more than a year, chamber officials said.

" We had several floods in the office and the landlord never did the

proper repairs, so we ended up with some serious black mold, "

Chamber CEO Terri Ward said.

The Chamber began moving out of the former Rialto Theater building

at 452 Broadway on Thursday. Its employees have temporarily moved in

with the Partnership for Economic Development, in Bridgeville.

Chamber officials said the building's pipes had burst five times

since they moved there in December 2006. The bathroom ceiling caved

in after one broken pipe incident. The accumulated moisture

eventually became mold that grew on the floors and walls. The

Chamber tested the mold twice and found that it was black mold, Ward

said.

" The building itself is not safe, " said Hamlin, chairman of

the Chamber. " The village building inspector told us to vacate the

premises. "

Ward and Hamlin said they alerted the building's owner, Chen,

but she was not responsive. Ward said Chen blamed the Chamber for

the bursting pipes and did nothing to fix them. According to one of

her employees, Chen is in Taiwan until Oct. 1 and is unable to be

reached.

Chen sold the building in late August to ph, a Long

Island developer who plans to rehab three buildings and a vacant lot

on Broadway, including the old Rialto Theater, to create new offices

and lofts. Village Manager Barbarite said ph will present

renderings to the Village Planning Board on Sept. 23.

Village building inspector Sue Flora said ph did not know about

the mold problem and promised to fix the building. He wants to keep

the Chamber as a tenant, he told Flora. ph did not return calls

on Friday.

The Chamber did not move out sooner because it worried about the

legal repercussion of breaking its lease, which has three years

remaining. Ward said the move to Bridgeville is temporary.

" We're definitely going to try to be on Broadway, " she said. " We get

a lot of visibility and foot traffic there. "

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