POUGHKEEPSIE – An apartment complex owned by Marist has been cited by the Poughkeepsie City Building Department due to unsafe conditions. The complex is used for off-campus housing of students at the Town of Poughkeepsie college.
The property is located at 89 Talmadge Street and the backside of the property borders Delafield Street near the intersection with Whinfield Street. There is a lengthy retaining wall between the property and the sidewalk on Delafield Street that is deteriorating, bowing out into the sidewalk, and has graffiti on it.
On July 19, the City of Poughkeepsie Building Department issued violations for the graffiti which requires the college to clean the affected area by September 25. To date, no action has been taken to remove the graffiti. One Delafield Street neighbor said, “The graffiti has been noticed by the Marist employees who come by to pick up trash along the wall but they haven’t done anything to clean it. It’s probably because they are afraid to touch the dangerous wall.”
The college was also issued three violations for the physical condition of the wall itself. The city advised Marist that “The retaining wall is leaning towards the sidewalk, wood has rotted away in spots, is loose in spots, and weeds are growing out of the wall.”
The city requires that, within 30 days of the notice of violation, dated July 19, 2022, the college needs to obtain a building permit to rebuild the wall. The college is also required to contact a structural engineer. The work is required to be done within 60 days of the violation.
As of August 30, 2022, no building permit application had been received by the city and no work has been performed to stabilize the wall.
“Marist was first made aware of this violation today (August 30). Immediately upon receipt of the notice, the College took steps to assess the condition of the wall, and plan for its repair. The College expects to complete the repairs in short order. We remain in frequent contact with the City of Poughkeepsie’s Building Department on our progress to fix this issue. The wall is located on Delafield Street, and not a point of access to the property,” said Anthony Proia, Marist College spokesman.
