Town of Ulster officials are awaiting the results of an asbestos report before moving forward on the demolition of nine vacant cabins on a property at 338 Glenerie Boulevard that has been at the heart of years of friction between owner Catelo Viviani and both his neighbors and the town.
The asbestos assessment was produced by Latham-based Paradigm Environmental Services based on samples taken from anywhere in the structures and foundations where asbestos might be present, and officials are hoping that the results will help reduce the potential cost of the demolition. The $250,000-300,000 estimates received by the town include the cost of all cabins having to be demolished by a hazardous waste facility.
At a meeting of the town board held on Thursday, April 3, building inspector Warren Tutt said each structure yielded its own “20-some-odd pages long” report with lots of repetition, but he planned to consult with Paradigm to get a summary. Tutt added that he was optimistic based on what he was able to parse from the results.
“The reports looked very good in favor of us,” Tutt said. “(Perhaps asbestos) is not traceable or it could be even easier than we think. But we’re going to have to do our due diligence.”
Town supervisor James E. Quigley, III agreed, recalling the town’s cleanup of a farm used as a junkyard in the 1970’s where the process did not proceed with enough caution.
“They disposed of the cars in a location that resulted in the town being fined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency $150,000, which I had the privilege and the honor of writing the check for in 2010 when I came into office,” Quigley said. “I do not want to repeat that mistake. We are going to be accused, I know of, taking our time and dragging our feet here. But I do not want to defend this town in a million-dollar negligence suit by Mr. Viviani. And given his actions I’m almost certain that if we do something out of step, his lawyer who has been in almost daily contact with Mr. Kovacs will take up that relationship to hourly in front of a judge.”
Viviani has owned the 1.3 acre property since 2018 after buying it for $104,000 at a county tax sale. Four years later, he was cited for numerous code violations by the town. Last November, the town was granted the authority by the state Supreme Court to demolish the cabins after Viviani violated a stop-work order. Neighbors have said he continues work on the structures, something Tutt attempted to confirm in late March.
“I did not catch Mr. Viviani working,” Tutt said. “He was at the rear of the property.”
Tutt added that further research indicated that Viviani’s efforts to grandfather the use of the cabins as vacation rental units was unfounded as the previous owner never went through proper channels to affirm that use.
“They were never operated as seasonal rental cabins,” Tutt said. “I talked to a (county) division that inspects summer camp rentals of five or more, and they had zero record there was ever a camp there.”
Quigley agreed.
“I believe we are going to be successful in proving that the two-year window that extinguished the grandfather right to conduct the commercial activities of a camp, summer camp, cottages on that parcel will be upheld when we file an action with the state Supreme Court,” he said.
Tutt said that while he didn’t catch Viviani working on the cabins over several visits during the past month, he planned to create a photo log of the rear of the property from a neighboring property he was given permission to access. The photo log would show any changes or improvements to the structures, Tutt said.
Quigley said he hoped to be able to finally proceed with the demolition and removal of the cabins within a month or so, after the findings of the asbestos report were confirmed and, ideally, the cost of the project would drop.
Join the family! 
