Steve Lieberman

A New York state law has been proposed to make it a felony to endanger first responders by renovating housing into apartments without permits or buildings into schools without approvals and safety equipment.

The proposal creates the crime of "reckless endangerment of a peace officer, police officer, firefighter or emergency medical services professional."

The measure would make it a crime to knowingly alter buildings without a permit and convert or subdivide a building in violation of the state fire prevention and building codes or other laws. The proposal was introduced by Assemblyman Kenneth Zebrowski, D-Clarkstown, with support from Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, D-Ramapo. Sen. David Carlucci, D-New City, introduced the bill in the Senate.

The proposal addresses the rising number of illegal housing conversions and private schools. On several occasions, firefighters in Rockland, New York City and Mount Vernon, for example, have been injured responding to fires when they run into locked rooms created by adding walls.

The proposal remains before the code committees in both houses.

As advocates of tougher laws and enforcement, the Rockland Illegal Housing Task Force members worked with Zebrowski and other state lawmakers to craft the legislation.

The task force members have passed on hundreds of potential housing and school violations to local governments since forming in 2009. Their efforts have pressured the state's Division of Code Enforcement under Gov. Andrew Cuomo to investigate housing and schools with long-standing violations. So far, despite tours of buildings and meetings, the state agency has not acted.

Task force Chairman John Kryger said that after nearly five years, advocates still fear firefighters, other first responders and residents face death in fire traps such as a moved wall or blocked window or door .

Such conditions were blamed for the 2005 "Black Sunday" fire in the Bronx. Six firefighters jumped from a window after they were trapped by illegally constructed walls in carved-up apartments. Two died, including John Bellew of Pearl River. Jeff Cool of Pomona, a Rockland task force member, suffered severe injuries.

In 2011, Haverstraw firefighters entered a smoke-filled single-family home and were confronted with illegal conversions to a rooming house. A volunteer firefighter was running out of air and had to be rescued by his colleagues.

Kryger said the task force has gone to the state and prosecutors for tougher responses.

"The system is broken," Kryger said. "We're no better off than when we started."

Task force members have sent violation reports to state officials and building inspectors in Ramapo, Spring Valley and other towns and villages. They also attend local court cases to monitor whether violators are fined and how long the cases take.

"We've seen that, for the most part, civil court appearances for building and fire code violations are ineffective as a deterrent to those who illegally alter buildings for greed and profit," Kryger said. "Until a few of these building owners see some serious jail time, it will continue to be the cost of doing business."

Rockland District Attorney Thomas Zugibe has assigned detectives to work with the task force on investigating illegal conversions.

Zugibe said his attorneys also are researching whether landlords can be prosecuted under existing law for illegal conversions. He said they are looking at whether landlords are stealing from taxpayers when they convert single-family buildings into multiple-family housing or schools without paying more in taxes.

Kryger said the primary goal is always the safety of residents and first responders.

"It is our hope that making illegal conversions and subdivisions a criminal act, a felony, will make ... tenant or a landlord think twice before committing what we consider to be a criminal act," Kryger said. "We're not going to wait until we're pulling dead bodies out of buildings, either civilian or firefighter."