Owner of building in fatal fire defends its condition

Ted Gounaris, the owner of 104 Jay St., denies any wrongdoing in connection with the fatal fire there in March and said he would like the city’s inspection documents to be released.

Gounaris said there were no issues with the building before the fire and that the city was slow to inspect the property after he bought it. The city says it’s up to the owner to properly maintain the building and that there was no required time for inspection.

Gounaris, who lives on Long Island, purchased the apartment building across from City Hall for $470,000 in October 2014, four months before a massive fire destroyed it and a neighboring building and killed four people.

The March 6 fire was ruled accidental, but an investigation is ongoing by the Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office with criminal charges possible.

District Attorney Robert Carney declined to comment for this story.

Gounaris has about a dozen lawsuits filed against him by families of the deceased and former tenants of the building, and has retained the Albany law firm Iseman Cunningham Riester & Hyde.

The suits claim that Gounaris and property manager Ideal Property Services, based on the Jay Street Marketplace, had knowledge of “dangerous and hazardous conditions” at the building.

Several suits allege that the property owner and manager did not maintain and inspect the fire alarms and sprinklers and that the smoke detectors were disconnected in the building’s common areas.

The city inspected the five-story building hours before the early morning fire. Gounaris was cited for an expired fire alarm system certification, which doesn’t mean it wasn’t working at the time, city Building Inspector Eric Shilling said in March.

Because of the ongoing investigation, The Daily Gazette was denied code enforcement documents related to the inspection of 104 Jay St. and records for the building next door at 100-102 Jay St.

“I don’t know what to think,” Gounaris said during an interview last week at his attorney’s office. “I would like to see this report released. I would like to begin the process of moving on.”

Gounaris says the 100-year-old Gleason Building was up to code and that he was working to rehab the property.

According to several former tenants of 104 Jay St., the fire alarms did not go off during the fire.

At the direction of his attorney, Gounaris declined to answer questions about the building’s fire alarms.

He said the building never had a sprinkler system because it was built at a time when code did not require sprinklers. City property records also show the building did not have a sprinkler system.

The state Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code, which requires sprinkler systems in buildings, was not mandated until 1981.

Gounaris said he renovated 11 units that were vacant when he purchased the property, which were occupied before the fire. The 20 units in the building were a mix of studio and one-bedroom apartments.

Gounaris said before he purchased the property the previous owner replaced the boiler and upgraded the electrical system.

He said he was planning other investments before the fire, including a new elevator and security cameras in the hallways. He was also looking to occupy the building’s retail space on the first floor.

“There were some glaring issues,” he said. “The retail space had been vacant for decades. There were piles of debris everywhere. The hallways had holes in the walls. We turned over all of the vacant apartments. We removed furniture and replaced broken appliances and broken windows.”

Aside from a heat complaint and another about cockroaches, Gounaris said he did not receive complaints from former tenants about possible code violations.

“I feel like I did everything I was supposed to do,” he said. “I feel like I played by the rules and did the right thing. All the money from rents stayed in the operational account to make sure everything was moving forward and getting done for the building.”

Gounaris said he pushed the city to inspect the building sooner after he took ownership, but that the Building Department didn’t get around to it until the day before the fire.

He said the fire alarm system certification expired during the time he was waiting for the building to be inspected. The system expired on Feb. 26, according to Shilling.

“They wouldn’t do the inspection because they didn’t recognize me as the owner,” he said. “I went there in person, my property manager went there, and every time they said the deed hadn’t been registered yet and they wouldn’t move forward. Some of those things expired in the meantime because I didn’t know. I didn’t know what the city wanted me to do.”

City Attorney Carl Falotico said there is no required time frame for the city to inspect a building after it changes ownership. He said that isn’t an excuse for a building not to be up to code.

“Building inspections are driven by the owner taking some action to invite the inspectors in,” he said. “Complaints and other issues can get code in there too.”

Gounaris filed a notice of claim, a precursor to a lawsuit, against the city seeking damages caused by any negligent acts by the city.

“Although a report of this inspection has not yet been made available to claimant, upon information and belief, at the time of the inspection, the city and/or its inspector did not report any problems with the operability of the fire alarm system located at the property,” the claim states.

Gounaris is looking to be reimbursed by the city for defense costs and attorney’s fees if Gounaris and Ideal Property Services are found liable for any injuries or damages sustained by people in the building.

The claim also alleges the fire hydrants near the building were not working during the time of the fire. Fire Chief Ray Senecal told the Daily Gazette in June that they were working.

The claim also says the city should have been aware that the building next door was not properly maintained by the owner.

The fire started shortly before 2 a.m. on March 6 in the fourth floor apartment of Harry Simpson, 59. It spread through 104 Jay St. and to the building next door at 100-102 Jay St.

Simpson died in the fire, as did Robert Thomas, 31, Berenices Suarez, 33 and her boyfriend Jermaine Allen, 37. They were all found in 104 Jay St.

Seven people were hospitalized after the fire and 60 or more displaced.

Gounaris said he drove to Schenectady that morning from Nassau County, arriving around 6:30 a.m. He heard about the fire from his property manager, Jay Sacks.

“While the building was up and running I thought he was doing a great job,” Gounaris said of Sacks. “We talked everyday on the phone. We were always communicating.”

Gounaris said when he arrived on the scene he was “shocked and heartbroken.” He said the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives questioned him that morning as part of their investigation.

“Then nothing since then,” he said. “Nobody attempted to speak to me or get any opinion from me,” he added, referring to city officials.

Falotico said he has been in communication with Gounaris’ attorney since the fire.

Jackson Demolition has since demolished 100-104 Jay St., leaving two vacant lots. The land is still owned by Gounaris and neighboring landlord Vytas Meskauskas.

Gounaris said the city sent him the approximately $600,000 bill for the demolition of both buildings, along with overtime incurred by police, fire and other city departments in the aftermath of the fire.

Falotico said Gounaris was sent a bill for both demolitions “to keep the city’s options open in terms of a legal case holding the owner of the building where the fire started responsible.”

Meskauskas was only sent a bill for the cost to demolish 100-102 Jay St., Falotico said.

The city has picked up the costs for demolition and overtime, but Mayor Gary McCarthy said he is looking for the property owners to ultimately pay the tab.

William Winkler, who then served as acting commissioner of general services, said Meskauskas did not have insurance for 100-102 Jay St. McCarthy previously said he believed the sprinkler system was turned off in that building.

“Upon information and belief, prior to the fire, the city knew, or should have known, that a building located at 100-102 Jay St., which was adjacent to the property, was not covered by an appropriate fire bond or insurance,” Gounaris’ claim says.

Meskauskas could not be reached for comment after repeated attempts since March.

The city is looking to eventually take ownership of the lots for future development.

“It’s subject to ongoing litigation,” McCarthy said. “I believe that the best interest of the city is to have site control. That’s part of the discussions that are ongoing. It was a tragic event and it’s a slow, methodical process we’re going through.”

Gounaris said he found 104 Jay St. after responding to a Craigslist ad for the building next door at 100-102 Jay St., which he said was in poor condition.

He said he was looking to invest in downtown Schenectady because of the proximity to City Hall, Proctors and the possibility at the time of the Rivers Casino and Resort at Mohawk Harbor, which has since been approved for a license.

“The city looked like it was turning around,” he said. “It looked like the building was in the heart of everything. I wanted to be involved and be a part of that. I thought that would be my niche investing here.”

Gounaris said he was also interested in purchasing 100 and 118 Jay St. (the Seneca Building) at the time.

“I was just doing one step at a time to get the building where it needed to be and looking at others on the block,” he said. “I never asked for [Schenectady County Metroplex Development Authority] money and I never took a loan out on the building. I wanted to come in here and earn it. I didn’t want a handout.”

Gounaris said even after the tragedy he would like to buy property again in Schenectady.

“I hope to still invest,” he said. “That is my goal. I would like something good to come out of this.”

Reach Gazette reporter Haley Viccaro at 395-3114, [email protected] or @HRViccaro on Twitter.

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