Port Jervis faces urban renewal crisis and leadership strain
In Port Jervis urban renewal lurches forward with turmoil. UR director John Botens collapsed and died after defending UR at a council meeting. Major landlord and mayor Sidney Sakofsky faces scrutiny over vast holdings in the UR area, stirring questions of ethics and influence. Town politics show weak party leadership as council members clash over information and progress. The only concrete action was $255,000 spent on studies with no groundbreaking progress.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Port Jervis
John N. Botens
Middletown
Edwin J. Dietz
Bernard Schure
Department of Housing and Urban Development
HUD
New York
Philip S. Parker
Parker
Edward Dornan
Dornan
Sakofsky
Fourth Ward
Philip Melnick
URA
Raymond, May, Parish & Pine
Theodore C. Kuykendall
Port Jervis mayor holds over nineteen percent in renewal area
Mayor Sidney Sakofsky controls properties in Port Jervis central renewal district worth over 19 percent of the area. The 49.6 acre renewal section totals about 3.8 million dollars in assessed value, while the 1969 roll lists property at 459,500 with a true value of 729,274. In his name are 26-28 Ball St valued at 1,600 assessed and 52,540 true. 3 Ball valued at 750 assessed and 1,190 true.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Sidney Sakofsky
Sakofsky
Alton P. Baldwin
Sid
Point Peter
Delaware
Ball
Front St
Jervis Commercial Realty Corp
Front
Sussex St
Hammond
Jersey Ave
Pike St
Defense expert cites white man’s hair on murder rock
In Orange County Court Goshen a defense expert testified that a 20 pound rock alleged to have been used by Dennis J. Thomas to bludgeon his wife to death contained hair from a white male not the victim. Hair described as curly and brown was analyzed by the American Standards Testing Bureau of New York.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Goshen
Orange County
Vassilis Morfopoulos
American Standards Testing Bureau of
New York
Thomas
Dist. Atty
Angelo J. Ingrassia
Morfopoulos
Ingrassia
Mersepeleus
Beer Company
St. Luke’s Laboratory
David Birdsall
Samuel Moore
Newburgh
Birdsall
Moore
Fireman Cleared of Alarm Charge in Port Jervis Case
Port Jervis volunteer John Walter Pepper, 23, had charges of turning in a false alarm dismissed by Judge William J. Gregg. Pepper, member of the Howard Wheat Fire Co., allegedly called the police on June 6 reporting a false fire at Kolmar Laboratories, using another firefighter’s name. The judge ruled the police complaint insufficient, noting no evidence showed property was endangered or any fire apparatus responded.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Port Jervis
William J. Gregg
John Walter Pepper
Ball St
Pepper
Howard Wheat Fire Co
Kolmar Laboratories
Ore Hall
Howard Wheat
Gregg
Also Mentioned on This Page
Chris Farlekas
Times Herald-Record
Francis Murray
Baldwin
High Street
Delaware River
Manny Fuchs
Joe Shea
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