COLUMBIA SPY

Friday, September 4, 2015

CONDEMNED! CONDEMNED? Was the building safe or not?

Today's fire at at 421 Walnut Street rear / 423 Avenue G raises some interesting questions. As can be seen on the above photograph of a condemnation notice, the codes department had previously condemned the property, listing it as an "Unsafe Structure." (Columbia Spy reported on this HERE.) The notice prohibited occupancy beyond June 29, 2015, but the date was subsequently changed to August 2, 2015. At Columbia Borough Council's July 27, 2015 meeting of the whole, a tenant of the building told council that Robert Osborne, whose employment with the codes department was recently terminated, changed the date again, revising it to "Habitable to live in until further notice." Columbia Spy is unaware of any further revisions to the notice. At the time of today's fire, four of the five apartments in the building reportedly were occupied. With the recent series of seemingly arbitrary revisions to the occupancy date, one wonders if the structure was truly safe for habitation.

The building is owned by Sam Bigler, who also owns several other properties in the borough, including the controversial structure at 208-210 Locust Street.

VIDEO & PHOTOS - 2-Alarm fire at Walnut Street / Avenue G

VIDEO - Fire at 421 Walnut - rear

A fire was reported at about two o'clock this afternoon at 421 Walnut Street, rear, an apartment building owned by Sam Bigler. Reportedly, four out of five apartments were occupied and had working smoke detectors. A witness living at a neighboring residence told Columbia Spy that her dog started barking and alerted her to the fire. After calling 911, she knocked on doors at the apartment building to alert tenants. Two state police fire marshalls were called to the scene to investigate. Sam Bigler was also at the scene.

Sam Bigler is the owner of 208-210 Locust Street, a distressed building that has been the subject of controversy in the borough recently.

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