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1963-03-14 SPM6,6 /gl il//'C. ,e apt 0 7-3 IA/ .cJ O C= ‘/i4 ,/motor. ich v T"ctitC—ss d Li /ti ryi �� . STATE OF NEW YORK : : DUTCHESS COUNTY TOWN OF WAPPINGER : : NEW YORK In the Matter of the Public Hearing being eondueted by the Town Board under the provisions of the Junk Yard Ordinance to determine if the license of the licensee should be revoked. R x DATED: THURSDAY, MARCH l+th, 1963, 8:00 P.M. APPEARANCES: TOWN BOARD Supervisor Richard H. Linge Mr. George Robinson Councilman Malcolm Hait Justice of the Peace William Bulger Justice of the Peace Vincent Franoese Town Clerk Helen Travis Town Attorney, Judson T. Williams RICHARD ROi, ESO., NOEL DE CORD©VA, ESQ., 2 Hearing on Proposed Revocation of Junk Yard License, Wappingers Central School Wappingers Falls, New York BY MR. LINGGE : May we call the meeting to order please... 1 have a notice hero that was published in the Wappingers and Southern Dutchess News on the 28th of Febru- ary: "Please take notice that a public hearing of the Town Board, Town of Wappingers, New York, will be held at the Wappingers Central School Cafete- ria afete- ria on the tth of March, 1963, at 8:00 otclock in the afternoon of that day on the proposal to revoke the license heretofore granted to Sol Shapiro, doing business as Salts Auto Parts, and William F. Witchey, operator of the Midway Servi e Station, to conduct the type of business entitle , "An Ordinance Licensing and Regulating the Activities and Businesses of Dealers in Second Hand Materials, Jm,in* and Used Auto Parts," Helen L. Travis, Town Clerk." and itis dated, Wappingers Falls, February 26th, 1963." Now the purpose of the hearing which is conducted by the Town Board is to determine if the license of the licensee should be revoked, and that issue therefore is whether or not the licensee has violated the terms of the ordinance or .is otherwise an unfit person to hold a license as for instance, if thereto been any misstatement in the application for a license. Anyone wishing to testify, there are slips on the tables, and anyone wishing to testify should fill out one of these little slips and express their intention to speak, give their names to the Town Clerk and state whether they wish to speak in support or in defense of the proposed revocation. There are only a few slips here and a few names have been given to the Town Clerk. Now if there are any- more to come in at this time, l wish you would fill them out and bring them forward. If there are anymore of those slips to be filled out and passed forward, while youtre doing it, Itd like to indicate that a copy of this notice was served personally on the licensees on the 8th of March, 1963. 4 BY MR. WILLIAMS: The number of people who do not have a copy and request the procedure of the order of business of this meeting, I suggest the Supervisor announce the order in which testimony will be taken. BY MR. UNGE: First we would hear of any background evidence if anybody wishes to present any. Next, persons who wish to testify concerning the proposed revocation; then people who wish to oppose the proposed revocation including the licensee if he wishes to testify. Next, anyone who is in favor of the revocation, and people in favor of the revoca- tion are only to take Josue with any testimony given by the persons opposing the revocation. BY MR. WILLIAMS: May I restate that? BY MR. LINGE: Yes in legal terms. BY MR. WILLIAMS: First of all, the Town Board proposes to hear the people who would like to see this license revoked; secondly they will hear people who donst want the license revoked, 5 and then they will hear people who would like to see the license revoked, but are not going to let them have the last word in a sense, because the last time they appear their testimony will be restricted to taking issue with what the people who have just got through testifying have said; in other words, if they want to point out any errors or omissions that the people who want the license continued} have said, then they have a chance to do that. It's not fair in other words to have the people who would like to see this license revoked hold their fire until the last word; that's not fair to the licensee. At least this is my suggestion. I gather the Town Board wants to do it this way. BY MR. LINGE: Now Mrs. Town Clerk, in the two eases which are for hearing tonight, would you report the date upon which the licensee received the temporary license; the date it was and the date the permanent license was received, BY MR. WILLIAMS: Does the Town Board wish to conduct a hearing separately from "Witchey" or do they propose to hold them together? 6 BY MR. LINO: Separately. BY MR. WILLIAMS: Well, then I suggest the Town Board only hear the background information on Hol Shapiro, and then at the proper time the background information on Witchey. BY MRS. TRAVIS: His temporary license was issued on January i#th, 1962. Then on the license which was issued on February 4th,, 1963, the application for this license was received on December 2Tth, 1962. The license was issued on February 4th. Also I would just like to say, accompanying this license, when it went out, this letter went with it to all members: "Dear Sir: The issuance of the enclosed license does not constitute a finding that you are in compli- ance with the ordinance licensing and regulating the activities and businesses as dealers in second hand materials, Pink and used auto parts in the Town of Wappingers. Signed, /sj Helen L. Travis, Town Clerk." 7 BY MR. WILLIAMS: I would like to ask the Town Clerk to read into the record the effective date of the ordinance that is under consideration tonight. Would you indicate when the publica- tion was completed and the ordinance becomes effective 20 days thereafter? BY NR3 TRAVIS: It was published in the paper on December 29th, 1960, in the Wappingers paper. BY MR. LINGE: Next Isd like to have Dwight :Robbins come for- ward and be sworn as a witness, and I'd like to have you testify on the condition of the premises since the date you inspected them. 8 DWIGHT L. BOBBINS, called as a witness, being first duly sworn, testified as follows: BY MR. WILLIAMS: Q. Please state your name? A. Dwight L. Bobbins. Q. And what is your capacity in the Town govern- ment? A. As Constable. Q. And what is your address? A. 10 Dutchess Terrace, Wappingers Falls. DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. LIME: Q. Dwight, you have a report with you as to the condition of the yard of Sol Shapiro when you made your inspection, will you give us a resume of the findings and the dates? A. This was conducted the first part of February. Q. What year sir? A. 1963. Q. Please state the date? A. The first part of February, 1963. On subdivision "A" 9 which is the activity, the management minimized the fire hazards and trespassing by children. His property was. O.K., on the fire hazard, but in as much as he didn't have the complete fence up that was no. On subdivision "B" which is pertaining to fence and the hedge and so on, that was no, because he only had part fence. Subdivision "C", he was O.K., Subdivision "D" he was O.K., Pertaining to burning, he doesn't burn there. Subdivision "E" at that time was no. Subdivision "F" was O.K., and subdivision "Cr was O.K., Those are my findings on that date, the first part of February, 1963 regarding Sol Shapiro. Q. Now did you examine the premises of Sol Shapiro since then? A. I have. I was out there again today which is the 14th of March, 1963. I examined his property, and under sub- division "A" he is O.K., on the fire hazard. He has improved as far as under subdivision "B"; he has installed more fence. He still has more fence to go which he has promised to have up in the next week or so, and itis also up to the powers whether he has to install the fence through the back part of his property which is in the woods. On subdivision "C" hets O.K., Subdivision "D" hess O.K., under subdivision "E" on the fire extinguishers he has purchased and planed in his property there two appro' type fire extinguishers which will be acceptable for that type of business. They are installed out in the field. The other two subdivisions; "F" is O.K., and subdivision "O" is O.K,, BY MR. LIME: Does anyone on the Town Board have anything they would like to say? BY MR. HAIT: Just to clarify it, the fence business is the only problem? A. At the present time I would say yes. Q. That is the only obstacle? A. Yes, the only obstacle that I could see. BY MR. WILLIAMS: At this time may I suggest the Town Board decide their rules of procedure. Mr. Shapiro is represented by counsel tonight, Mr. Richard Rosen represents him. The residents of Widmer Road area are also represented by coun- 10 ed 11 sel, Mr. Noel De Cordova. I suggest that it would be in order for the Town Board to deeide whether or not you are to permit counsel to make inquiry of the various witnesses that appear before the Board; if you extend the privilege to one counsel I think you should extend it to both. On the other hand, I dontt think it is necessary that you extend this privilege at all to have a fair hearing under the law. It then becomes a matter of policy with the Town Board as to what they wish to do in this area. 1 BY MR. HAIT: I think it should be clarified. BY MR. LINGE: In the interests of getting as much information as possible, we will grant permission to the attorneys representing both the dealer and the residents to ask ques- tions of the witness. BY MR. BULGER: Q. Mr. Robbins, you indicated that more fence was needed and promised; would you care to estimate how much fence there is on the property at the present time and how much more there is to go? 12 A. Well, at the present time the whole front of his property is fenced. The fence which would be, let's see, the direc- tion towards Mr. Jenssen, the west side. The fence has beer continued back quite a few feet from when I've last inspec- ted. nspec-ted. It has to continue on beyond to reach the end of Mr. Jenssen's property. BY MR. LINGE: Q. What's the nature of the fence that's there at the present time? A. At the present time it's a wire fence, sort of a box type. It has the wide - I donet know the proper term for that fence. It's a square type fence like. In other words, the wire is so far apart. BY MR. LINGE: Now Mr. Attorney, we will hear the people who are in favor. BY MR. WILLIAMS: Well, the Board apparently has decided that they would like to extend to counsel the privilege of asking questions. BY MR. LINGE: To give counsel for people opposing the revocation, 13 that would be Mr. Rosen: BY MR. ROB: Q. Mr. Robbins, is there fence material that is on the west side of the property that has not been nailed up yet? A. Yes there is. Q. And does that extend to the end of the property? A. At the present time, no. Q. Approximately how many feet is necessary to extend it to the end of the property? A. Well, in walking back through there, I don't know the exact dimentions of the various properties there, but I would assume another 150, possibly 200 feet I believe would come to the end of Mr. Jensen '- s line. Q. And is there presently fencing material which is not nailed to the post but which is present on the ground? A. There is, yes; there's rolls of it. Q. And has Mr. Shapiro stated to you that he will complete this fence within a week? A. He said he would, yes. BY MR. LINGE : Is there anyone else? Mr. De Cordova? Mr. Cor- 14 dova represents a number of residents of Widmer Road who favor the revocation. BY MR. DE CORDOVA: Q. Mr. Robbins, I assume from reading the various sections that you're familiar with the Town Ordinance regu- lating junk yards? A. Fairly. Q. Was your inspection in early February inspection you've made of these premises? A. Yes. the firs*, Q. Is it the practice of the officials of the Town to inspect businesses regulated by this ordinance prio to the issuance of any licenses? A. That I do not know. Q. Has it been your practice as a Town Constable to inspect junk yard and salvage businesses since the enactr ment of this ordinance prior to the issuance of any license* to them? A. No. Q. Are you familiar with subdivision "A" of Sec- tion #6 of the regulations which states that the licensee shall conduct such activity or business in a manner to minir 3.5 mize.the fire hazard, and secondly, to prevent improper trespass thereon by children_and others. A. That's right. Q. In your opinion as Town Constable and inspecting officer for the town, Is it your opinion that the licenseee in this,.partioular case has prevented improper trespass thereon by children and.others?, A. Not-,until,his fence is complete. Q. At this time? A. At this time, no. q.Andt,so therefore, at .this time be is notin compliancetwith subdivision ne, is that correct? A. That's right*. Att 84—subdivision m.P." 1.8 concerned, , it statwthattheJieensee sha1l,:ereotfence,or;,hedge or other)parrter,not in itself Inherently dangerous, adequate to prohibit,theJmauthorized,entrance:of children into the area of the activity for business; has he complied with,that provision of the statute? A. Not-entirelyi no. Q. Does he have sufficient fire lanes throughout the premises to permit entrance of a fire truck? 16 A. Definitely. Q. Are all materials at least 10 feet from the boundary lines? A. Yes. Q. Have you measured the same? A. Not exactly. Q. This is your best estimate? A. That's right. Q. Do you know how many square feet there are of area? .11/11111.1 A. -- May I correct you on one thing in regard to the 10 foot thing? Q. Yes sir? A. That is all materials must be kept at least 10 feet from the boundary line of the premises where the same abuts a public street. Q. Excuse me; along that front boundary line along the road it's your opinion that he is in compliance with that? A. From the road? Q. Yes? A. Yes sir. { 17 Q. Do you know in reference to subdivision "E", do you know how many square feet of area are in use as a junk yard in this manta premises? A. Not exactly; but I don't think it would be 80,000 square feet that he's using there in that one particular place where he has extinguishers and so forth. Q. Have you seen this man's license application form? A. No, I haven't seen that. Q. Do you have any idea how much property he owned' A. He owns - I don't know whether it's six or eight acres; something like that I believe. Q. Do you have any idea how many thousand square feet there are in an acre? A. No. Q. Can we have a ruling from Judicial Notice from the Town Attorney as to approximately how many square feet there are in an acre? A. :Forty three thousand. BY MR. DE CORDOVA: If he has between six and eight acres of land Constable Robbins in use as a junk yard, would you think he is in compliance then 18 with the fire extinguisher provision? BY MR. WILLIAMS: May I interject at this point Mr. De Cordova. It is the function of the Town Board to determine whether or not the licensee has complied with the ordinance. I think it is rather unfair to ask the constable of the town who went out to inspect the physieal condition of the premi- ses what his opinion is. What his opinion is really doesn't matter. BY MR. BE CORDOVA: I withdraw it then. Q. How many fire extinguishers sir are there on the premises at the present time? A. Two. Q. And where are they loeated? A. They;re located in the field where he has his ears. Q. And in what manner are they affixed? A. One is inside the gate attached to a tree; the other one is down in where he has his cars in the back of an old black Oldsmobile. Q. And what are they affixed to? A. One is affixed to a bumper and a chain and a lock, and the one up front is affixed to a tree with a lock, and the 19 key is right inside the gate post by the gate. Q. You say that these are locked? A. Thatis right; chained there, to prevent theft. Q. Well, in case of the absence of the owner, how do you use these fire extinguishers if they're locked? A. They are broken very easily. Q. They can be broken? A. Very easily. BY MR. WILLIAMS: I think the subject Mr. De Cor- dova is pursuing has no bearing on this, in -as -much as the availability of the fire extinguishers certainly has bearing whether the premises are conducted in a safe condition or not. Q. Now as far as subdivision uF" is concerned Constable, what is your observation - what has your observa- tion been as to the adequate supervision and the precaution taken to prevent the entry of children or others to the premises. You may have not made such an observation; I want to know whether you have and if so when? A. Well, in a sense I have, when I went there first to inspect and check the property, and Mrs. Sol Shapiro, she happened to come out of the trailer - I mean, she saw me 20 immediately, because I didn't go to where they live first; I went up to where these other cars were, and she was observ- ing me at that time. Q. Were the premises locked? A. The gate was, yes. Q. How did you gain entrance? A. I went over the fence. Q. You consider yourself one of the authors of the ordinance? A. Yes; under "H." Q. Well, that's been your only observation on these two occasions, is that correct? A. That's right. Q. You have no personal knowledge of whether or not these premises are supervisied at all times to prevent the unlawful entrance? A. That I couldn't say; except they do have a watch dog at the place; a watch dog who makes quite an uproar. Q. Itd like to examine you sir with regard to this fenee that already exists. A. Yes. Q. Did you have occasion to examine the fence 21 closely that exists? A. Well, I went along there. Q. Are there areas caused by the contour of the land or construction of the fence which would allow small children and others such as yourself if you so desire to gain entrance to this yard without going over it? A. There was a couple of spots which I brought out to Mr. Shapiro, that the fence should be lowered. Q. How about the main gate as such, does that have a gaping area underneath it which is very accessible that might be accessible to small children? It is possible, yes. Q. And did you walk the fence line along the westerly side along Mr. Jenssen's property, walk that boun- dary line inspecting the fence? A. When I first went there I went on Mr. Jenssen's side and went down. Q. And you say this fence extends southerly? A. It extends southerly. Q. From the road proceeding along Mr. Jenssen's property, does it terminate; did you say it terminated at the end of Mr. Shapiro's property? A. No, not quite. Q. And is there not a wooden fence on the boundary line between Mr. Jensen and Mr. Shapiro? A. There's a wooden fence on Mr. Jenssents property. Q. 0n Mr. Jensen's property, is that correct? A. A part fence rather, not complete. Q. But there is a portion of a fence between the two? A. Yes. Q. Now to the south of that as you proceed, what 22 is the status of the fence now? A. There's more fence been put up since I was there first. Q. Is it up or is it lying on the ground? A. It's up, part of it; it has been extended since I was there. Q. Are there poles? A. Posts. Q. Is it affixed to posts? A. It has been extended,yes. Q. Is there any fence along the southerly boundary? A. Just one; like one wire to continue on, like a boundary line. Q. One wire? A. Yes. Q. And how about on the easterly line? A. On the easterly line; that's on the other side of the house? Q. Right? A. There's a fence along there. Q. There is a fence all the way along? A. Not all the way, but continued on past where the houses are. Q. From the house back to the other end is there a fence? A. No, there's part of a wall up in there. Q. What percentage of the perimeter of the land owned by Mr. Shapiro would you consider adequately fenced under this statute? A. The front part of the property. Q. Which is approximately one quarter would you say, or roughly if it was a square? A. Well, roughly I'd say, yes. Q. Now as Town Constable, have you ever received a complaint or had occasion to inspect the premises of Mr. Shapiro as to doing business on Sunday in violation of the penal law? 2 SIR. ROSEN: I object as no part of this Mr. attorney, doing business on a Sunday has no part or parcel of this. MR. DE CORDOVA: I beg to disagree as to whether this person would be a fit person to have a license. MR. ROSEN: That is not being considered here. MR. WILLIAM: There's no provision in the ordi- nance to that effect. I think the Town Board may properly consider whether the application is within accordance with the law. MR. ROSEN: The Constable has stated his basis for violations and I think the eross examination should be limited to those violations only and nothing else. MR. DE CORDOVA : On the contrary, this isn't a Court of Law where we're limited on cross examina- tion in any regard; in fact,cross examination has wide, very unlimited boundaries in any kind of a judieial proeeeding. I think this has a great bearing on this maws overall compliance with law in general. 25 BY MR. LINGE: Law in general doesnat concern us tonight; itis the ordinance itself. MR. DE CORDOVA: 14m going by your ground rules, in effect, is this man a fit person to have a license, and if you'll look at the ground rules that were mailed to me today, 1 received today, Itm trying to establish that perhaps this man is not a fit person because he violates other provisions of the penal law, and if this is so, I think the Town Board ought to have some knowl- edge of it. MR. ROSEN: May 1 be heard? The notice was served on Sol Shapiro, was based on Mr. Robbins r inspection on February 28th. Hefs announced the results of that inspection and they were as he has stated, that the fence was not completed, he was In violation; Mr. Shapiro was in violation at that time of subdivision "A", and Mr. Shaprio at that time was in violation of subdivision "B" because the fence was not completed, and further at that time, the fire extinguishers were not up and this hearing is only based on those two 26 objections that Mr. Robbins found and nothing elne, and I feel that the, testimony should therefore be limited and as a consequence the cross examination too. MR. WILLIAMS: I think it is pertinent in as much as the application for a license such other fact or evidence as is deemed necessary to establish any person as being fit and capable in conducting the activity or business for which the license is sought, I feel the general operation of this business and the manner in which it is conducted is pertinent to this hearing. MR. ROSEN: My client has been notified that he has violated the terms of the ordinance. Iii. WILLIAMS: No he has not. MR. ROSEN: He was. MR. WILLIAMS: He was notified that a hearing would be held upon a proposal to revoke his license. He was not notified that he violated the ordinance. MR. ROSEN: This was one of the grounds that Mr. Robbins has stated for the proposed revocation. MR. DE CORDOVA: Mr. Robbins has stated only a 27 few grounds. We have lots of grounds. MR. WILLIAMS: Mr. Shapiro has not violated the ordinance. The Constable who went out to inspect the property - thatts the purpose I take it, one of the purposes of this hearing. MR. Ram: The portion relating to whether he is an unfit person to hold the licensehowever is not in question here from the testimony of Mr. Robbins; it may be from someone else but not Mr. Robbins. MR. DE CORDOVA: Tim attempting to elicit testi- money from Mr. Robbins as to whether this person is a fit person or is not a fit person; and the only way I can determine it is to examine Mr. Robbins. Itll abide by any ruling that the Town Board can make. BY, MR. BAIT: Well, this can be introduced at a later time. MR. DE CORDOVA: But why call Constable Robbins back if I can examine him at the present moment. BY MR. LIW'GE : Go ahead. BY MR. DE CORDOVA: Q. 1 will, restate it rather than try to remember what I said. Have you at anytime had occasion to hear any official complaint as Town Constable as to activities of Mr. Shapiro on Sunday, conducting business on Sunday, which is a violation of the Penal Law? A. No I haven't. Q. Have you had any occasion ness activities of Mr. Shapiro on these A. - - i have - riot . - Q. Well, then to summarize your testimony Consta le, it correct to state that at the present time Mr. Shapfro in violation of Subdivision "A", oubdivision "B", as far is is as yousre to observe any busil premises on a Sunda 2f concerned? MR. WILLIAMS: Before he answers that question I submit to the Town Board that this is one of the issues that the Town Board must decide itself; therefore, I don't see much to be gained by ask- ing this. MR. DE CORDOVA: All right, I withdraw it, I hav1 no further questions° BY MR. ROSEN: Q. I just have one further question. Did Mr. Shapiro indicate to you that the reason that he had not completed his fence by today was because of the harsh winter we had? A. He did. BY MR. WILLIAMS: Q. Dwight, when you went out there the first time, how much fence was there? A. The whole front along side of Mr. Jenssen=s property, a little bit south of where he has that fence of his own up. In other words, to obstruct the view. Q. In other words, on the front it was incomplete? A. Yes. Q. On one side he was all the way to the back lime? A. Oh no, on the side which would be the west side of the property it went back a few feet beyond the fence, the wooden fence that Mr. Jenssen has up. Q. How about the other side? A. The other side there was partial fence along there. Q. And not all the way back? A. Not all the way back . 30 Q. How about the other side? A. There's woods and brush. Q. What about the portion of the two side lines where there is no fence; what's the topography there? A. Of Mr. Jenssen 1 s? Q. On both sides; there was no fence when you went there first? A. Oh, there was a part fence there; it had only gone back so far. Q. And the portion, it's the portion of the side where there was no fence? A. Yes. Q. Now on the portion of the sides where there was no fence when you went out there first, what is the nature of the topography? A. The property you mean? Q. Yes? A. It's slopingly, it varies up and down a little bit. Q. Is there woods there? A. Back further between the two properties, Mr. Jenssen's and Mr. Shapiro's, there's woods. Q. But in some portions of the side line there 31 is no woods? A. Right. Q. Now on the portion where there are no woods, and there was no fence when you went out there the first time, is the ground level or sloping? A. It varies. Q. It varies; in some portions it=s level and in some portions it elopes? A. Yes. Q. Which way does it slope, both ways or one way? A. It slopes mainly down toward Mr. Shapiro's property; but there's little gulleys like, not too many. Q. Now how high is this fence? A. Oh, about four and a half to five feet. Q. And what is it made of, wire? A. Yes. Q. Not barbed wire? A. No, not barbed wire. Q. Smooth wire? A. Yes. Q. How many strains? A. Oh, six or eight I would say; I didn't count them. 32 Q. Approximately what's the distance between the strands? A. Between the strands, about six to eight inches; it varies on the bottom of it. Q. Now when you went back there the last time, just today, more fence had been put in? A. Yes. Q. Same general nature as the fence that was there before? A. Yes , Q. And now how far back on the side lines does it run? A. That continues back quite a few feet from beyond where I originally inspected it; it still must go a little bit further on back in, I'm not sure of the distance of the properties there. Q. Now on the side lines, is there still an area that is not wooded and has no fence? A. Yes. Q. And what is the nature of the topography there; is it flat or is it sloping? A. It slopes a little bit. 33 Q. Towards Mr. $hapiro's property? A. Yea. Q. How much would you say roughly in feet is unfinished and unwooded on the aide? A. Oh, possiblg 50 feet. BY MRC DE CORDOVA: Q. Did you observe Constable the placing of tires and rims by the main entrance gate within five feet of the entrance gate this afternoon when you were there? A. No. Q. Did you look within five feet of the main entrance gate carefully when you were there this afternoon? A. I went through there, yes. Q. And you observed no rims or tires within five feet of the gate? A. No; possibly covered with snow if they were there. Q. Did you at anyone of your inspections inspect to see that the automobiles or what is left of automobiles that are on the property were adequately anchored to the earth? A. No I did not. Q. Did you see any evidence of automobiles that 31+ had moved of their own power from gravity after they had been placed on the premises? A. I did not. BY MR. LINGE: At this time if there are any other witnesses that would like to testify in favor of the revocation we will listen to them now, followed by those who are against the revo- cation. MR. WILLIAMS: Mr. Jenssen has indicated he is fcr -- MR. DE CORDOVA: Mr. Supervisor, in an effort of brevity, I have attempted to limit our people speaking on the dist that I gave Mrs. Travis, and if I could examine them and lead them in their questions I think we could dispose of it a little quicker, and if the Board wishes to ask any ques- tions or Mr. Rosen wishes to ask any questions I would be happy to do so. MR. ROSEN: I think counsel's suggestion is a good one with one exception; but that he not lead the witness and let them answer. BY MR. LINGE: That would be appreciated. 35 LEIF W. JENSSEN, called as a witness, being first duly sworn., testified as follows: BY MR. WILLIAMS: Please state your name? A. My name is Leif W. Jenssen. Q. And what is your address? A. 1 live on Woodmere Road, Wappingers Falls. DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. DE CORDOVA: Q. Mr. Jenssen, would you explain to the Board the exact location of the premises owned by you in relation to the property owned by Mr. Shapiro under discussion here tonight? A. Well, my property borders with Mr. Shapiro`i s . Q. On which side? A. Well, again 1 thought it would be the west side. Q. And does your property extend the entire boundary area of Mr. Shapirots? A. Yes. Q. And how long have you lived there? A. I've lived there since July, 1962. Q. And since you1ve lived there have you had occa- 36 cion to observe the property owned by Mr. Shapiro? A. Quite often. Q. Now with regard to the fence which you've heard discussed here earlier, have you had occasion to observe this fence? A. Yes sir. Q. And as it borders your property on the wort side, as between your property and Mr. Shapiro's property, will you explain to the Town Board the condition of that fence from the road to the back boundary of Mr. Shaptro=s property? A. As of today or as of the first inspection? Q. Well, you see its been slightly changed since the first of the year, I must say that. Q. Weli, as of :February 4th, 1963, when the license was issued, what was the condition of the fence between your two boundaries? A. Well, at that time there was a stretch of fencing going down toward my fence which is approximately I would say in round figures about 80 feet, maybe 90. The fence itself was approximately four foot high; some areas perhaps three and a half foot high, some areas four foot high, it varies. 37 Towards the front of the property which I brought out to Mr. Robbins the day I made the inspection, I showed him areas where I would say at yeast 12 inches or perhaps 18 inches of space on the ground level at the bottom of the fence, and I pointed out to him and in all due respects, to show him. Q. Now have you had occasion to observe the type of fencing that it is? A. Yes, it's a wire fence with large squares in it. Q. And have you had occasion to measure the size of the squares? A. Yes, they're approximately nine inches square, and there are some places where there are smaller type, but the major rity is the nine inch square type . Q. And in your opinion is this area which you've just discussed, does this adequately keep out children? A. In my humble opinion I would say no. Q. Have you ever noticed children in this lot? A. Well, I have not actually seen them. Q. Now would you describe the rest of the fence as it goes toward the south? A. Well, it's a very hard thing to exp in to not know exactly what time. Q. We're talking now about February 4th, the day this license was issued? A. Well, actually as of that particular date, the fence was made in such a manner that instead a fence post being used, every so many feet you find a fence post, and then the top of a telegraph pole where the knobs are still on it Q. -- Well, what do you mean by knobs? OUP OM 38 A. Well, connectors and wires; that is placed into the ground, how deep 1 don1t know. Then you might go down the line a little bit, and you might perhaps find a sapling or a part of a limb cut off and driven into the ground. This is also supposed to be a fence post, and then you go down the line you find perhaps a piece of pipe in the ground, and that is supposed to be a fence poet, and on these is installed the wire fence and also nailed, and also a few trees down the line and they are nailed also. Q. Now does this fence proceed to the back boun-, dary area; did this fence at this time proceed to the back boundary area of Shapiro's property? A. No. Q. How many feet before the background? 39 A. Well, as 1 said before, perhaps 90 foot was covered, so therefore there a,re 200 foot more. Q. Now what proceeded along the southerly boun- dary, the background area, the boundary lateral to the road in the back; was there any fence there at all? A. No. Q. How about on the easterly boundary, was there fence over there? A. Well, as far as 1 could see, no; there might be something towards the front where he has a little area boxed in for a chi7.drenss play yard near his home or trailer; there is a fence there, but towards the back is nothing. Q. 0 subsequent to that date has there been any activities in the nature of putting up any fence? A. Oh yes. Q. And to whit extent has that taken? A. Now this past Monday fencing was put up; in fact, Monday morning 10:00 o'clock fencing was put up on my boundary which is the west boundary. This was being put up in the same manner. In fact, there is quite a few areas where perhaps six or 10 foot between poles is quite a distance between poles and Ifm afraid of a strong wind on it might 4o blow down, or if somebody should lean on it, it might go over. Q. Did you have occasion to observe the premises today? A. Yes. Q. Did you have occasion to observe the front entrance gate? A. Oh yes; I made a point to walk down to it. Q. And was there any articles of vehicles, or any portions of any vehicles within 10 feet of the street line or from the boundary line or premises where the same abuts a public street? A. Well, that would be Widmer Road. Q. And how close would you estimate they were to the fence? A. Approximately? Well, right there there was a gate; now being the gate, it's not put up straight, it sort of bends inside and you actually -- and actual measurements to the direct line I couldn't say, but I would say perhaps between five and 10 feet. I would like to interject something also,; there's quite a large space underneath the gate which I would say was more than 10 - more than one foot - and in fact, where the gate is chained together there's no center 41 post, o therefore when the chain and lock are put together there is a space between both these gates. Q. How far is the gate off the ground? A. Well, the one, you see theyire not both made of the same material; they're just lying kind of lop -sided, so I'd say the left side is over a foot of space, and being not pulled all the way up I would say a space this big. Q. Is there anything else you would like to dis- cuss about this? A. No, except that I could add what you asked me before; there has been activity on Sunday. Q. Have you ever seen any transportation of vehirles in and out of the place by being towed or otherwise on a Sunday? A. Oh yes, many times. Q. And has there been other cars with people walking around the lot on a Sunday? A. I see them walking around the lot, but I couldn:t see them who they actually were. Q. And they were in the lot as contrasted to being around the immediate house premises? A. Yes. 42 ] 1 A. Yes. Q. And there is quite a distance is there not between the areas where the cars are lying? A. Yes, there's sort of a low in the land there, a gulley you would call it. It's quite a distance down. BY MR, LINGE: Q. When the gates are open how much distance is there for somebody to go in and out? A. Oh, I'd say approximately 18 inches. Q. Do you have any children? A. Yes I have. Q. Would you give me their ages? A. I have a son 10, a daughter 12; I have another son six, a daughter five, and a elittle guy, four. We have a crowd. Thank you. Q. Does anyone else on the boavd like to ask any questions? BY MR. ROSEN: Q. Have any of your children ever gone over onto Mr. ShaPirols property? A. I have not seen it, but I know at one time they were down there. 43 Q. But they have never climbed over the fence or gone over the fence? A. I don't watch my children 24 hours a day. Q. You do watch Mr. 3hapiro's premises to see he's in compliance? A. Everytime I hear a noise I look out my window, yes. Q. And do you know exactly what the people were doing there on the Sundays when you said you saw people there? A. No, I don't know. Q. You don't know what they were doing? A. They also could be looking for parts. Q. You don't know what they were looking? A. Well, when a man has a piece of glass in his hand and gone by window to window, perhaps he's looking for a part, but I did not ask the individual. Q. You did not ask the individual? A. No. TENNA JENSSEN, called as a witness, being first duly sworn, testified as follows: MR. WILLIAMS: For the record, your full name please and address? A. My name is Mrs. Tenna Jenssen, Widmer Road, Wappingers Falls. DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. DE CORDOVA: Q. Mrs. Jenssen, you are the wife of Leif Jensser,? A. Yes . Q. Your husband is Leif Jenssen, the previous 44 witness? A. That's right. Q. And you live in premises adjoining Mr. Shapiruts premises on Widmer Road? A. That ' s right. Q. Have you observed Mr. Shapirols property? A. Yes I have. Q. Have you observed the fencing thereon? A. Yes I have. Q. Have you anything to add to what your husband 45 has testified about the condition of the fence which he did not mention? A. No. Q. It is substantially as he has described it? A. That t s right. Q. Mrs. Jenssen, you are there in your house most of the day, are you not? A. That's right. Q. And you are the mother of five children? A. That's right. Q. Have you had occasion to witness children playing or present on Mr. Shap.ro's property? A. Yes I have. Q. And were they Mr,. Shapirots children? A. No, they were not. Q. Did they appear to be playing with Mr. Shapiro's children? A. No they were not. Q. Did you recognize any of the children? A. Yes I did. Q. And you know who they were? A. Yes 1 do. Q. Have any of your children ever been found on Mr. Shapiro's premises? A. One of my children unfortunately was with this group. Q. Was with this group? A. That's right. Q. And was anyone on the premises, supervising the premises at the time these children were there? A. No. Q. Did you notice any dog barking at this time? A. Not at that time, no. Q. When was this? A. This was a few months back. Q. In 1962? A. 1962, that's right. Q. When in 1962? A. In October. Q. Have you ever had occasion to notice any tran:- portation of vehicles in and out of that junk yard towed or self-propelled on Sunday? A. Yes 1 have. Q. And would you estimate on how many Sundays this has happened? 47 A. Well, this past Sunday for one which was the closest. Q. Vehicles being towed in? A. There was one being towed in this past Sunday. Q. Have you noticed people working on the vehicles on Sunday? A. Outside of bringing them in I can't say they were working on them, no. Q. Have you noticed people, adults, walking around the premises on a Sunday? A. Not necessarily a Sunday. Q. Now are any of these vehicles parked on a slope Mrs. Jenssen? A. Yes there is. Q. And did you have occasion, ever, to witness a car, one of the vehicles parked there underway, under its own steam so to speak by forces of gravity down that slope? A. I didntt see it roll down, but there was one that did roll down within a period of 10 minutes, but I did not actually see it go down. Q. When was this, do you know -- MR. ROSEN: -- Pardon me; if the witness had not seen it but heard about it I object to it. MR. DE CORDOVA: She didn't say she saw it; she heard it. A. It was exactly five o'clock in the afternoon when my parents came up on a week -end. Q. When was it? A. :This was in September. Q. Of what year? A. Of 1962. Q. Of 1962; and you witnessed a ear? A. A car was parked on the hill. Q. And shortly thereafter within 10 minutes what; 48 happened? A. My parents Left; 1 went to the back of my house, the car was on the slope at the time they left which was five o'clock, I went to the back of the house, I turned around and came to the front as I saw somebody coming to visit me, and when I came to the front of the house the car was down the hill and the tire tracks had made its own road so to say. Q. Grooves in the side? A. Yes, and the car is still p rked where it landed by itself. Q. Have you anything further to add about the maintenance and operation of this junk yard that you would 49 like to bringout that is factual? A. :The only thing is the operation late in the evening which I do object to because many evenings it can be as latE as 11:00 P. M., and to hear the truck with the chains and the rattling coming in and lights blinking on and off. Q. Have you anything further to add? A. No. Q. Does the board have any questions to ask Mrs. Jenssen? BY MR. BULGER: Q. Do you know Mrs. Jenssen how the children which you described about the incident in October, how they got on the premises? A. Yes I do, They crawled under the fence and they also crawled back the same way because I had no intentions of going in and getting them. BY MR. DE CORDOVA: Q. Are you rather as a nn other, are you concerned of the possible hazards that may exist in a junk yard which may be injurious to your childrents health and other child- ren of the neighborhood? A. Yes, I would say I am, yes. 50 BY MR. WILLIAMS: Q. Mrs. Jenasen, did you actually see these child- ren go under the fence? Yes I did. Q. And the area of the fence that they went under the fence, is it in the same condition now as it was when the children went under? A. Not that spot. Q. The place where the children went under the fence, something has been done to that? A. Yes. Q. What has been done? A. There has been put an extra piece of wire from the fence to the ground. BY MR. ROSEN: Q. Was this the first occasion and the only occasion you know of the children went into Mr. Shapirols yard of your own personal knowledge? A. Since 1 have moved there, yes, because since then I've been after them not to go in there. Q. And on this occasion did you see the children as they were proceeding into the fence? 51 A. I saw the last two go under the fence, yes. Q. Did you call out? A. I did, yes, but they returned promptly, but I had to cai3. the other four. Q. Did you notify Mr. Shapiro thereafter? A. No Idid not. Q. Had you ever notified Mr. Shapiro or Mrs. Shapiro about this incident? A. I have never spoken to Mr. Shapiro or have ever met Mr. Shapiro or Mrs. Shapiro. Q. If you are concerned with the welfare of your children and afraid of them going under the fence, didn't you think it was your duty to speak to Mr. Shapiro and ask him to take care of the fence at that time? A. I would gladly do so. MR. DE CORDOVA: I object. MR. LINGE: I think we would eliminate that since the children didn't go under the fence with her knowledge. MR. ROSEN: Well, my question was why she didn't go to Mr. Shapiro then and inform him about the incident? 52 A. Well, it was after this that I started to go down to the Town Board and ask the Town Board to please inspect Mr. Shapiro's ground because I felt it was very dangerous and I have never been able to speak to Mr. Shapiro; I have never been able to get a hold of him. Q. You've been on the property adjoining the Shapiro, premises only since July 1962, is that correct? A. That's correct. Q. And this was the only occasion your children had to go underneath that fence? A. That's correct. BY MR. DE CORDOVA: Q. One further reflection; upon knowing the children had been on the premises, you did however make a complaint, is that correct? A. I made complaint I believe the following meeting I was down to the Town Board. Q. And you brought this to the legislative body of the Town of Wappingers? A. I did. 53 KNUD W. CLAUSEN, called as a witness, being first duly sworn, testified as follows: BY MRS. TRAVIS: Q. Your full name Mr. Clausen? A. Knud W. Clausen. Q. Your address Mr. Clausen? A. Widmer Road, Wappingers Falls. DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. DE CORDOVA: Q. Do you own property in the vicinity of the Shapiro premises? A. Next to Shapiro, yes. Q. Do you own adjacent property on which side of Mr. Shapiro? A. 1 am on the south side of Mr. Shapiro. Q. To the rear of Mr. Jenssents premises and to the east of Mr. Jenssente premises? A. That is east of Mr. Jenssen's property. Q. And does your property boarder the southern boundary of Mr. Shapirots property? A. The southern boundary, no; comes Mr. Ricohono; no, I'm 514 south; Ricobono is east. Q. And how long have you owned this property Mr. Clausen? A. About 22 years. Q. Now have you had occasion to observe the fenc- ing that is around the premises owned by Mr. Shapiro? A. Yes, I had an inspection, private inspection at four o telock this afternoon. Q. Does your inspection in any way, did the resu]ts of your inspection indicate any different status or position of the fence then youive heard here testified to tonight by Mr. Jenssen and Constable Robbins? A. 1 have. Q. And in what regard does it differ? A. Well, I listened to the testimony that Mr. Robbins gave about the post; there is no post, the fence just runs on top of the snow and is laying down most of the way. Q. Now what part of the fencing now are you talk- ing about? A. That is that fencing there that Mr. Shapiro tried to bring up before this hearing, that would be the last part from the half way of Mr. Jens sen t s property and down to my property. 55 Q. Is this the fencing that was put up the begin- ning of this week? A. Yes; itis not put up, it is strung alongside there. Q. Itis laying down on the ground? A. Mostly laying down. Q. And is there any fencing aldng the boundary between Mr. Shapiro and yourself? A. No, I have some kind of boundary but Shapiro has nothing. Q. Has this same condition existed at the time this license was issued on February 4th, 1963? A. There was nothing that time. Q. There was some fencing in the front was there not? A. There was about 180 feet, but the full length is 556 fee':. Q. And along the road there was some fencing? A. If you call it a fence, yes, but there is a very danger- ous one for the children. Q. In what regard Mr. Clausen? A. Well, it is made out of, oh, I would say about four, five different kinds of fence. It is not a new fence, it is all old stuff; some of it there has been a new piece, and most of it is old, then they hook together, it is just 56 grabbed in so all the prongs and everything hangs out. Q. Does Mr. 8:hapiro have cars located all over this acreage that he owns; are they spread out all over the acreage? A. Yes, he is pretty well spread out. Some places he has them close together and other places he has them spread. Q. Now have you observed any activity on these premises in the way of transportation of vehicles in and out on any Sundays? A. Oh yes, that is the only time Mr. Shapiro is home, that is on Sunday. Q. And have you noticed any other activity on the premises on Sunday besides the towing in and out of vehicles? A. No. From my windows 1 can't see over there; what 1 know is just his car coming in and out of there. Q. Have you had occasion to hear of activity on the road in front of the dragging of vehicles to the junk yard during the evening hogrs? A. Oh, 1 hear him in there in the evening and in the day- time too. Q. Now have you had any conversations with Mr. 57 Shapiro prior to his obtaining the license with regard to these premises? A. Yes. Q. Conversations with Mr. Shapiro in regard to his premises and the activity thereon; would you tell the members of the panel the approximate time when this conver- sation took place, approximately? A. I would say approximately in February of 1962. Q. And what was the substance of the conversation between yourself and Mr. Shapiro regarding the use of his land at that time? A. Well, you want me to say that? Q. Yes; don't offend any of the ladies. A. Well, I tell you, T used to own that land and the house there that is in question here now; what Mr. Jenssen has, and I had some trouble with the sewer line; was clogged up and I was working there together with two other fellows, and Mr. Shapiro came over and started talking friendly. One thing led to another and Mr. Shapiro he said to me, he said, when he first come out here, he said he was not welcome on Widmer Road, and they had a petition out and stuff like that, and I said, "you didn't see my name on any petition 5e Mr. Shapiro, I never signed any petition for you not to como in here." So we talked friendly talk, and he said, "well, my lawyer he told me to spread the cars all over, different places; if I don't do that when the zoning comes in they can take the land away from me as a junk yard." I said, well, I said, "if you leave all that evergreen - there was beautiful evergreen standing in between the house I own and Shapiro's land, that was big evergreen, there was apple trees, the whole thing was just growed and you could see nothing, and I said, "Mr. Shapiro, well, I said, "why don't you leave that evergreen otuff stand there and put your cars further down and I don't think anybody will bother you," and oh no, he said, "I am here to do as much harm as I can," he said, "and I'm going to get a bull dozer here and I'm going to push the whole thing down in the hole," and I didn't believe the man, I didn't believe him because I couldn't see how that could be done. Q. And did he do this Mr. Clausen? A. He sure did. It was shortly after a bull dozer came in and he took the soil and he took the trees and evergreen and he pulled the whole thing down and he started to bring his cars in, and before that there wasn't any cars you could 59 see. Q. Now have you anything else to add to relate tem this Town Board this evening about the operation of this junk yard that has not already been related before tonight by other witnesses that you could add? A. Well, so far as the Town Board is concerned, I have been a frequent visitor to every meeting and I think I have told the Town Board everything they should know, and I think I will repeat tonight that the fence that is up now it is dangerous to children and we are concerned for the children and for the people on Widmer Road. I have grand -children, and there must be about 20 children around there and if anything happened to them on account of weakness from the fence and stuff, 1t11 say that this is very bad should it happen. Q. I thank you Mr. Clausen; and do the members of the Town Board have anything to ask Mr. Clausen? MR. HAIT: Just one thing Knud. You said the fence in front was made of all types of material? A. Yes, anyone who has been to Inspect that fence there could not help but notice it. Now it's a different kind of fence. Q. What material Knud? A. Well, the material are variable. There is one put up, a fence, that is two by two inches, but it must be around 16 gauge, very thin wire, and the barb wire is still on tho posts and this fence is still sitting on the front of it and this barb wire is holding the fence that is put up. Now the prong on the bar is a quarter of an inch long and that fence is just resting against the old post. The barb wire is still there, it has never been taken down, it has never been put up, and then you go a little further, therets a fence there, which are eight by eight openings, then you go further up, then there is a small grade of fence again, and then the rest of it all mesh, nine by 12, any kid can just step on them. Like Mr. Robbins said, you can just jump over, you can put your foot in and go over there. If it was put up in a safe manner it is all right, but it is not put up in a safe toner as a fence in my opinion. Q. Has there been any attempt to screen this junk yard from the neighboring houses in any mannor? A. No. Q. Any trees, there were never any trees replacedf! 1 A. Yes, there was nice evergreens and trees before Mr. Shapiro 61 put a bulldozer in there. Q. Do any other members of the panel have any questions? BY MR. ROSEN: Q. Do you remember what year Mr. Shapiro bought the property? A. Well, 1 have tried to figure that out and 1 believe it was 1957 or 1958. Q. And that year when he bought the property, did you have an occasion to speak to him to ask him what business he was going into? A. 1 did not speak to Mr. Shapiro before - before his expla- nation to me. Q. When was the first time that you spoke to Mr. Shapiro, what year? A. Oh, 1 would say it goes back to about, well, take a shot, 1940. 1 have known Mr. Shapiro all the time. Q. You have known him for a long time; when was the first time you spoke with him in regard to the use of his property on Widmer Road? A. Oh, you meam the first time he explained what he was going to do with it. 62 Q. Yea? A. That was the month of February, 1962. Q. Now before that, did you ever speak with Mr. Shapiro about the use of his property? A. I did not, but I did inquire. Q. So that from 1955, 1956, when he bought the property, up to 1962 00111110 A. -- He didn't buy the property until -- Q• A. 1958. 1957 or 1958? Q. From then up to 1962 you never spoke to him about the use of his property? A. I did not, MR. WILLIAMS: Mr. Supervisor, I suggest that anything that happened prior to the effective date of this ordinance isn't particularly per- tinent. MR. ROSEN: I feel that it's pertinent Mr. Attor- ney in that it brings out some background material on this particular witnesses comments and on his position here tonight. MR, WILLIAMS: It's up to the Town Board to let 63 him discuss NP. LINGE: -- Be brief with it, if you have a point that you want to make. Q. Surely. Before you spoke with him in 1962 Mr. Shapiro had cars on his property did he not? A. T didn't notice them. I couldn't see them from my place, they was all covered with trees and evergreens there. I cou].dn = t see anything. Q, But did you see any cars on his property before 1962? A. I didn1 t notice. I knew he was taking the wrecker in and out from his trailer where he was living there, but I didn't notice anything. Q. So it was when he started bull -dozing and started developing his property that you took particular notice of his property? A. Yes, I could see what he was up against. Q. And he was the owner of this land that laid to the north of you, is that correct? A. I believe he is the owner; but I don't know to who that land belonged. Q. And when he started to bull -doze this land and develop his land, there was no ordinance in effect, is that correct? A. Sure there was ordinance. Q. In what month or what year? A. Well, he just told me; as a matter of fact, he said he just got my permit. Q. And that was in February of 1962? A. I would say it was just that. You can't pin me down, I will not be specified, but it was around that time. He said to me, "in matter of fact, I just got my permit." Now he knows himself just about what time it is; it could have been a month more either way. I wouldn't know. MR. DE CORDOVA: Mr. Supervisor, was a temporary license issued on January 4th, 1962? MRS. TRAVIS: Yes. Q. Did you see any part of the Shapiro property from your house? A. Oh, if I will look for it I can, but it is far enough away that I don't have to look at it. Q. You can't see any of his cars or any of his fence from your property? A. Yes I can; I can see his fence. 65 Q. What portion of his fence can you see from his property? A. lid say the side that faces mine; I have a property alonp- side of him. Q. well, is there a fence on the southerly boundary of Mr. Shapiro's property? A. No. Q. What is there on the southerly boundary of Mr. Shapiro's property; would you describe the land there? A. Sure, I can describe the land. We are bounded by - there is some kind of a stone wall that makes the line there and then there is some trees and stuff standing on the southern line of his boundary. Q. And is there a swamp? A. Yes, there is a swamp in there; I've been after that too., Q. Isn't it true that the entire front of Mr. Shapiro's property along Widmer Road has a fence up all along the front part of his property? A. What type? Q. I didn't say what type of fence. There is a fence along the front part of his property, the entire part of his property bordering on Widmer Road there is a fence 6f all along, is there not? A. No, to that I will have to say there are three entrances to the junk yard. Q. But there is a fence? A. There is no fence in the entrance except on one - there are three entrances, there is only a gate in one entrance, and there is 18 inches opening, so there is no fence. Q. I understand that; but my question is simply this. Along Widmer Road the entire length of Mr. Shapirots property there is a wiring, there is posts, there are gates which constitute some type. of a fence, is that correct? A. Some type of a fence; except where the gate is open there is no fencing in there between there; you could go In and out there. Q. And there is also a fence up on the westerly boundary of Mr. Shapirots property which borders on Mr. Jenssen's property isn't there? A. Well, your n call it west; it will be southwest Q. There is a fence that is not yet completed but' which extends almost to the end of Mr. Jenssen's property? A. I can tell you exactly what there is. For 200 feet there is a fence up, and from there and down it is not a fence; there is wires laying on the ground what is being put up Q. So there are wires laying on the ground on the west side of the property which adjoin the part of the fence that is up, is that correct? A. That's correct; they have been doing some work on this last week. Q. And you have been seeing Mr. Shapiro over the last two years working on this fence? A. Well, it has taken almost longer than that. Q. I see; you've seen him working on this fence or not? A. I have seen him out on the fence off and on, yes. Q. Has he been doing this work himself? A. Well, I haven't seen anybody but himself there. Q. So that Sol Shapiro himself has attempted to put up the fence around his property, is that correct? A. He was trying to, yes; he got up 25 percent of it now. Q. Have you ever seen any children enter Mr. Shapirots property yourself? A. No, I have not exactly seen the children. I saw four of them over there today, but I've chased them away. 67 6E Q. You've never seen anyone go under the fence or climb over the fence? A. Oh, I don't go close enough to catch the children go out. Q. How wide is the fence bordering Widmer Road? A. Well, some of it three foot six, some of it four foot, and some hanging up in the air and some down on the ground. Q. So that some of the fence is over four feet high? A. No. Q. Your testimony is that no portion of the fence is over four foot high? A. No. There is a foot on the bottom, and then it's four foot up; they'll measure five. Q. Are there portions, some portions of Mr. Shapiro's fence that you consider actually proporti9ned as a proper fence? A. some Q. Have you seen people on Mr. Shapiro's premise& on a Sunday? A. Yes. Q. Where were you at that time? A. I was trying - I was driving past his junk yard there. 69 Q. Did you notice what they were doing? A. No; I see them walking in there. Q. I see; they were just walking? A. Yes. BY MR. WILLIAMS: Q. Mr. Clausen, you live immediately south of Mr. Shapiro's property, is that right? A. Thetis right. Q. How many acres do you own? A. I have a little better than 30 acres. Q. Do you live on the property? A. Yes. Q. You live fairly close to Mr. Shapiro's line? A. Very close. I can tell you just about how far I live. My son, he has there 135, and there is 125; that would give you 260 - I would say about 300 feet. Q. Now immediately north of Mr. Shapiro's pro- perty, across from the road, what's there, any houses or businesses or anything, or just vacant land? A. No, no; across Widmer Road, no. Q. Now coming along Widmer Road, how many houses would you say there are within a thousand feet of Mr. Shapi- ro is land on either side? A. On either side? I can count them up for you. My land is a thousand feet from where fused to live to the side where Mt. Shapiro has now - there are one, two, three, fou five, six, seven on the south side of Mr. Shapiro, and then that would be mostly north, on the north side. Now that's only one side of the road, the other one is more. On the north side of Mr. $h piro there ,comes Ricobono; there's foux, and then there comes Berberich, that is five, and Groth, six; you only want in for 1,000 feet? Q. Oh, just roughly? A. Six on one side, and there are 14 on the other side. 1 71 JOHN HEANEY, called as a witness, being first duly sworn, testified as follows: BY MRS. TRAVIS: Your address Mr. Heaney? A. Widmer Road, Wappingers Falls, BY MR. DE CORDOVA: Q. Where do you live Mr. Heaney with relation to Mr. 8hapirots property? A. North. Q. Across Widmer :Road? A. Across Widmer :Road. Q. And can you see Mr. Shapiro's property from your premises? A. Yes. Q. Have you observed the fence surrounding Mr. Shapirots property? A. Yes I have. Q. Is its condition as has been generally described by the previous witnesses that we've heard tonight? A. Yes, even the part between Jenssen is put together in pieces (.and just tied together loosely. Q. Have you had occasion to inspect the premises today? 72 A. Yes. Q. Have you noticed any material from automobiles or oils that abuts the gate of the premises? A. One of the fire extinguishers is close to the gate I would say five feet from looking at it, and there is some rime and tires laying right below it. Q. And this is on the side of the premises which abuts the road? A. Yes. Q. Now how long have you lived at this address? A. Since April the let, 1962. Q. And were there any cars on these premises at this time? A. There was no cars in the lot across from my property. He had cars up around his house. Q. How many? A. Five or 10. I donit know exactly. Q. Have you had occasion to notice what you might deem business activity on the premises on any Sunday? A. Yes, S seen him pull a car in there last Sunday. In fact, almost the day we moved in he was doing it; he first started pulling cars into the lot across from my house and he brought 7 two or three in that first Sunday. Q. Have you seen any other people on the premises away from Mr. Shapiro ts housing area on a Sunday? A. Yes, I've seen people there; theymay have even been him, I don't know. Q. Have you seen people other than Mr. Shapiro? A. 1 don't know. I can't tell from that distance who they are. Q. Have you had people inquiring at your premisee about the j k yard? 1 A. Yes, w$ have had several people to come to our house and ask if we own the junk yard. We had one last week that came and askod to borrow a screw driver. He said that there was no one at the junk yard and he was sent there to pick up a part, anct my wife told him ho couldn't have a screw driver and he get stuck in the drive. Q. Have you anything else to add about the opera- tion of this junk yard that wc' have not previously heard thii evening from other witnosses? A. Yes. I think the Fire Marshal will bear mo out here of the fact that a fire extinguisher exposed to the weather and chained to a fence or tree is not of much value. 74 Q. Have you anything else to add to the Town Board? A. There is a car near the road in a big bunch of weeds which is to my estimation a fire hazard; it's not by his house or it's not in the other lot that he has, it's just in the ditch down thore between the two. Q. Anything else sir? A. No. BY MR. HAIT: What was that again? A. There's one that looks like it was pushed off the road there, and its in the ditch. He has cars up on the hill and then he has cars down by his house; there's also one pushed off in the ditch. BY MR. HAIT: It's inside the fence? A. Yes, it's inside the fence, but in stuff all grown up. Q. Has there been any attempt made to shield this junk yard from your property? A. No there hasn't. In fact, they've cut all the trees down. Q. Do you have any children? A. Yes, four. Q. Would you give me their ages? A. Eight, six, four and two. Q. Have you ever noticed any children inside the !i 75 premises? A. No, I have not. Q. Have any of your children been inside the premises? A. Yes they have. How far is your house from the premises of Mr. Shapiro? A. 1 would judge about 250 feet; maybe 200 feet. 1 Q. Is the view obstructed by any trees bushes or anything from your property looking out to Mr. Shapiro's house? A. No it isn't. His house? Yes. Q. Looking to his property and his yard? A. Where he's moved the ears in the last year, no. Q. Have you observed Mr. Shapiro mince you've been there in April, 1962, working on the fence? A. He has been out working on the fence at times. Q. And have you seen him working by himself on all the occasions when you observed the work being done on the fence? A. I've never seen anyone with him working on the fence, no, just by himself. Q. And is there a fence extending from the easte. n end of his property to the western end of his property on Widmer Road? A. There is a fence with openings that have no gates on it. Q. And is there also a fence extending along the part of the western boundary of Mr. Shapiro's property which would be bordering on the Jenssen property? A. There is partial fence; itis not clear to the edge of the property. Q. Now are there any cars that are not within the enclosed area or behind the fence which borders on Wid- mer Road that are located on Mr. 3hapirots property? A. All of them are located on his property. Q. And they tre behind that fence are they not, al., these cars? A. With what fence is along the road, yes. Q. And there are no vehicles that are not behind that fence, is that correct? A. None that 1 know of. Q. Now you have four children and you say that one of your children was over on the Shapiro property? A. Thatts right. 7i Q. And did you or your wife see your child there! A. I didn't. I don't know whether my wife did or not, I think Mrs. Jenssen seen him there. Q. Do you remember when this was? A. No, I don't remember when exactly it was; it was I think October, something like that. It was in the fall. Q. And after this was brought to your attention did you notify Mr. Shapiro? A. I have never met Mr. Shapiro; I don't know him, Itve never spoken to him. Q. But when you learned that your child had been on the property, did you feel your duty or your wife feel it her duty for further protection to go down to speak to Mr. Shapiro? A. We went to the Town Board who is responsible to enforce the ordinance and brought it to their attention. Q. But did you go see the owner of that property personally? A. No I didn't, I rve never met him. Q. Now you say you observed Mr. Shapiro pulling a car in on a Sunday, is that correct? A. Thatts correct. 7f Q. It might have been his own car that he was pulling in, isn't that so? A. No; unless he wrecked it and pulled it in the yard with the rest of them, it was probably his, I'm sure it belongod to him. Q. But you never saw any other work going on otheir than that on a Sunday? A. Other than him pulling in cars? Q. Yes, pulling in cars on Sunday? A. No. Q. When you moved into the Cook house across the street, had Mr. Shapiro started bulldozing and improving and developing his property into a second hand auto place and yard? A. He had bulldozed it; he had no fence and he had no cars. Q. But when you moved in there you knew that there would be a second hand auto place across from you did you not? A. No, I did not. Q. Well, you observed the bulldozing there? A. We11, I observed the bulldozing after I purchased the property. 7c Q. And when you moved in? A. The bulldozing had been done between the time I purchased it. Q. And did you observe thereafter what the pro- perty was going to be used for? A. Yes I did. Q. And you did not know what it was going to be used for before you moved in? A. I did not know that it was going to be used for a junk yard. Q. But you did see cars on his property did you not? A. Around hishouse. Q. And these were second hand autos, were they not? A. These were second hand autos. Q. Did you inquire as to the nature of the busi- ness of your neighbor across the road? A. I inquired through several people and I learned he had told them he would not put a junk yard in there. Q. Did you see a sign on his property? A. If there's a sign why did they come to my house? I haventt seen a sign, I really haventt; there may be one, but there's 8c none across from me sir. Q. You've never seen a sign on the Shapiro property? A. No sir. MR. DE CORDOVA: Mr. Supervisor, I have no ques- tion of this witness and I have no further wit- ness to present. I have many witnesses here but I think I have established my point adequately enough and probably just superfluous to call therm and redundant. I would like to ask Constable Robbins one question. MR. ROBBINS RECAMRD: Q. Mr. Robbins, as to the date of your examination, now you preliminarily spoke that the date was in early Febru- ary? A. Yes. Q. My information is that the date of your inspec- tion was on January 8th, 1963? A. I was out there in January and that's When I first talker to Mr. Jenssen, I went along his property line. Q. But you did inspect it at that time? A. No, that was not an inspection at that time. I was just out there looking the property over. I conducted the inspec- 81 tion later. Q. But you - I don't know what's the difference between looking at a property and inspecting it, but you did. observe the fencing on January 8th? A. Yes. Q. And you did notice the fencing on January 8th was inadequate, is that correct? A. Yes. Q. Did you notice the fire extinguishers on January 8th? A. No. BY MR. ROSEN: On that point that he just brought out, on January 8th, you did not make an inspec- tion of the premises as you did on February 4th and today, is that correct? A. That's right. BY MR. ROSEN: And you did not inspect it for the purpose of determining whether there was a violation, is that correct? A. No sir, I did not. Q. Before you retire for the edification to the Town Board, to the Town Attorney, would you tell me whether 8� the activities that have been the subject of so much discus- sion on Sunday are a violation of the law? I am not a Judge sir, I don't know? MR. WTT.T,IAMS: Well, a great deal has been made of this, and presumably the point involved, the suggestion at any rate is a violation of the law and I do not know sitting here that this is a fact, and I think this is important. MR. DE CORDOVA: Well, I didn't bring a copy of the Penal Law with me, but the Penal Law says in substance that there should be no business activ_ty conducted on Sunday. Now with exceptions of course; there are drug stores and soda fountains and delicatessens, but very clearly so the opera- tion of a junk yard where the sale of automobiles and used car parts does not come iithin that exception. I am not prepared to argue the quer - tion on a legal basis. BY MR. ROSEN: You don't know whether that is so. MR. DE CORDOVA: I did spend an hour researching that question but I didn't bring a copy of the Penal Law with me, but I'm quite sure that is so: 83 but any business activity without the exceptions listed in the Penal Law are a violation of Section 1296 or '97 of the Penal Law, and if the Town Board's wisdom it deems that the transportation in and out of vehicles is part of the conducting the'business of a junk yard and this business is so conducted on a Sunday, then I would say that there has been a violation of the Penal Law. If it does not believe it's so in it's wisdom, then they can disregard the testimony, MR. ROSEN: In the absence of the Penal Law this evening here, without the Town Boards' being able to see this particular section and see if there was any business activity in fact conducted on a Sunday, which I doubt the testimony, whether that comes under the Penal Law section I don't know, and I don't think Mr. De Cordova knows for sure. It is something you will have to look at the Penal Law to determine, but I feel that we won't even have to go to that point because the testimony of the witness so far has not presented any question S feel of any work being done on a 814 Sunday. MR. DE CORDOVA: Do you have anything further to ask of me Mr. Williams? MR. WILLIAMS: No. MR. LINGE: Mr. Rosen, did you want to bring out the people who feel the license should not be revoked now and expose them to questions? MR. ROSEN: I call Sol Shapiro. 85 SOL SHAPIRO, called as a witness, being first duly sworn, testified as follows: CLERK: Your address pleade? A. I live on Widmer Road. DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. ROSEN: Q. Mr. Shapiro, when did you purchase the property you own? A. Around six years ago. Q. And how many acres did you buy? A. Eight acres. Q. And what was the condition of this property when you bought it? A. It was swamp and woods. Q. Was it entirely vacant? A. Right . Q. And thereafter what did you put on the property during the first two years? A. Well, I put my house -trailer on it and I put a barn up; I put a chicken house up and that's about it. Q. And did you thereafter build an addition to 86 your trailer? A. About a year after. MR. DE CORDOVA: When is this Dick; would you give us some dates on this? When he bought it, he said six or seven years ago. MR. ROSEN: You figure it out; this is 1963. MR. DE CORDOVA: Itm asking for a date; whether its 1956, 1957, 1958 or 1952. MR, ROSEN: Subtract six from 1963. Q. What was the date? MR. LINGE: Which would have been 1957. A. Right. Q. And when did you construct the addition to your trailer? A. Yes, about a year or two years later after I moved there. Q. And who occupies the trailer now? A. My wife and two children. Q. And what ages are they? A. Four and 18 months. Q. Now when you moved on this property in 1957 or 1958 did you at that time operate a used car business and supply business; auto supply? 87 A. I did. Q. And thereafter, shortly after your occupying the property, did you begin to sell auto parts and have second hand parts on the property? A. Yes I did. MR. DE CORDOVA: When was this please? Q. In what year did you engage in this business? A. I would say about a year after I moved there. Q. That would be 1958 or 1959? A. Right . Q. And in 1959 did you store cars on your property? A. Yes I did. Q. Now in 1960; December of 1960, you were present when the Town of Wappingers passed an ordinance regulating the conducting of businesses on property in the town for the sale of second hand auto parts and auto supplies? A. Yes I was. Q. And thereafter when did you obtain your tempo- rary license? A. Well, I think it was after we had that meeting; it was about 10 days after, we got out license. Q. That would be in January of 1961? 88 A. That is right. Q. And when did you begin to do any of the things required under this ordinance? A. Well, it was before the license come in, I started to put my fence post up. Q. That would be what month did you start to put your fence post up? A. That would be December, Around December. Q. Of 1960? A. 1960, right. Q. Now did you do any work on your fence in the months of January, February and March of 1961? A. No, I couldn't, because of the winter months; I couldn't. put no fence posts in or put up any fence. Q. And was that a particularly severe winter, 19E1? A. Yes it was. Q. Now did you do any work in 1961 on your fence? A. Yes I did. Q. And when did you work on the fence? A. I did it in my spare time; anytime I had a chance to. Q. Where did you start your fence? A. I started from my house trailer, from the lower driveway 8s I went right along Widmer :Road. Q. And when you started your fence, what type of fencing materials did you use? A. I used box wire. Q. And have you used box wire throughout on your fence? A. Yes I have. Q. Is there any place where you have not used box wire? A. No there isn't. Q. And about how high was the fence when you started to build it? A. I would say about five feet. a, Q. Have you maintained that height throughout on your fence? A. Yes 1 have. Q. In 1962, in the winter, were you able to con- tinue your work on the fence throughout the winter months? A. No I didn't. Q. And again that was because of the snow and the conditions existing during winter time, is that correct? A. That1s right. 90 Q. Now in 1962, did you complete the fence along Widmer Road? A. Yes I did. Q. And was the entire, your entire frontage on Widmer Road fenced with this same materialdtlhat you described before? A. Right. Q. And how much land do you own bordering on Widmer Road approximately? A. Oh, I'd say 500 feet or a little better. Q. Now during 1962, did you continue working on the fence on other sides of your property? A. I worked on the upper side; I would say itrs the west side, I worked on that. Q. Is that the side alongside of the Jenssents property? A. That is right. Q. Now when you started working on the west side of your property, had the Jenssents moved in yet? A. I do not know; I don't know who lived there at that time. Q. And did you continue on the west side of the property to use the exact same type of fencing that you had 9: used along Widmer Road? A. Right. Q. And that is the box wire fence, is that correct? A. Right. Q. Approximately how much have you expended thus far for the fence that you have built on your property? A. I figure around $250.00. Q. During the winter months; that would be Decem- ber, January, February and wetre now into March, and the weather has been improving; but during these months, par- ticularly January and February, were you able to do any work on your fence? A. No. I tried to get up there with a dump truck and I couldntt get up there. Q. And so you made an effort to complete the fence but were unable to do so because of the weather con- ditions? A. That is right. Q. And since the weather has improved in this month have you continued work on your fence? A. Yes I have. Q. Now on the west side of your property, approxi- ; 92 mately how much fencing remains to extend it to the south- west corner of your property? A. Well, 1 have quite a lot of fence laying down; of course it has to be nailed up, and on the other end there might be 50 feet; there might be a little bit more. Q. How many feet on the westerly side of fencing remains to be nailed up? A. Oh, I'd say 150 feet. Q. And is all the fencing down for that 150 feet? A. Right. Q. And all you have to do then is to nail that fence up and that fence will be complete on the westerly side, is that correct? A. That's right. Q. On the southerly side of your property would you describe the terrain and the condition of the land? A. It is wood and swamp. Q. Is this land accessible from neighboring pro- perties? A. No, I wouldn't say so, unless they want to go through the' swamp. Q. Now on the easterly side of the property which is where your trailer is situated, is that right -- A. -- Right -- Q. -- Do you have a fence up? A. I have a partial fence there. Q. And there remains approximately how much fenc- ing to be done on that side? A. I would say maybe 300 feet. Q. And do you have the fencing material for this fence? A. Well, I have part of it; Itve got to go out and buy some, Q. And this fence you intend to complete in how much time? A. I figure maybe a month, Q. Can this fence be completed in less time if the weather favorable? A. Yea it can be. Q. Were you notified by Constable Robbins on February 4th of 1963, of the respects in which your property was in violation, alleged violation of the ordinance? A. Yes I did. Q. And what was pointed out to you by Constable Robbins on that date? 9)4 A. He said because 1 couldntt get the rest of the fence up that the kids could come in. Q. And so he pointed out that the fence had to be completed, is that correct? A. That'll! right. Q. And what else did he point out, if anything, that had to be done? A. At that time Ic didn't have the fire extinguishers at the premises. 1 had them; but I didntt have thein there, I had ordered them. Q. And thereafter, did you install fire extingui- shers in the area where your cars were located? A. Yes 1 did. Q. And approximately in acres, how much area do your cars take up? A. 1 would say about two acres or a little less. Q. That's two out of the eight acres that you own, is that correct? A. Yes; I have a lot of swamp. Q.. And in that two acres you have how many fire extinguishers? A. Two 95 Q. And it's been pointed out by the town attorney that there are 43,000 square feet in an acre, is that correct? A. Right. Q. Have you ever had any complaints from anyone or been notified by anyone of children going onto your property? A. No I haven't. Q. Your oldest girl is how old? A. Four years© Q. Has she wandered onto your property there? A. No she hasn't. Q. And have you ever seen any of the neighbors' children playing around the fence or in your yard ever? A. I haven't. Q. Have you ever conducted business on a Sunday on your property? A. No I haven't. Q. Is Sol's auto parts which you are the owner your livelihood and your business? A. That is right. Q. And is your income, all of your income derived from this business? 96 A. Well, the biggest part of it. Q. And are you presently making every effort to complete the fence? A. Yes I am. Q. And you have purchased the fence or the fenc- ing equipment enc-ingequipment for this fence? A. Yes I have. Q. And have you been notified by anyone of any holes in the fence that you put up? A. No I haven't. Q. Have you gone along your fence and inspected it for any openings or holes? A. I haven't. Not close. Q. Is it your intention to immediately upon com- pletion of the fence fill in every area where there is or could be any entrance by anyone? A. Yes. Q. And this will be completed within a month, is that correct? A. Right, or less. BY MR. BULGER: Q. Mr. Shapiro, is the wire that you have used for your fencing, you call this box fencing? A. Yes, right. Q. Is this all new equipment or is it used? A. No, what's there is used. Q. And the posts? A. They'' re used. Q. When you estimated the height of your fence, are you estimating this from the bottom strand or the top strand, or are you estimating this from - the reason I'm asking this question is because we had various estimates of the heights? A. Well, I have never measured it, but I figure approximate; y around five feet. Q. You're figuring five feet; you mean five feet from the ground? A. Right. A. Right. Q. To the top strand? BY MR. LINGE: Sol, from whom did you buy the property? 97 98 A. I bought it from Masterson. CROSS EXAMINATION BY MR. DE CORDOVA: Q. Mr. Shapiro, you testified that you received your permit in January of 1961, is that correct? A. Yes, something like that, I'm not positive on the date. MR. ROSEN: The temporary license Mrs. Travis stated was January 4th, 1962. Q. Well, that's what I'd like to establish. I think the record will show that you testified you received the temporary permit in January of 1961. I would like to know when you received your temporary permit? A. I'm not too sure. Q. Well, was it 1961 or 1962? A. I do not know. I don't remember. Q. Do you know when the ordinance was enacted? A. When it was enacted? All I know that when we went to the first meeting when the ordinance was started; right after that I started to work on my fence. Q. Well, Itm not asking you when you started to work on your fence; I'm interested if you know when the 99 ordinance was enacted? A. Offhand 1 dont know unless I checked. Q. Were you present during the public hearings and so forth on the ordinance? A. Yes I was. Q. And did your group retain an attorney to repre- sent you on these hearings? A. Only the first time. Q. Were you present the evening the ordinance was enacted? A. Yes I was. Q. Were you familiar with the ordinance and its provisions at the time it was enacted? A. Yes. Q. Had you read the ordinance? A. Yes I did. Q. Now you testified that you had used crs on the premises at the time that the ordinance was enacted, is that correct? A. That's right. Q. And you were already operating as a used car a junk yard, at the time the ordinance was enacted, is that 100 correct? A. That t s right. Q. And you were already operating as a used car a junk yard A. -- Well, as auto parts, right. Q. Well, did you have used cars and junk cars on your premises at that time? A. Yes. Q. And you say you were familiar with the provi- sions of the ordinance when it was enacted? A. Yes, I went by what they had in the book, as far as fence, as far as fire extinguishers. Q. Now I would like to ask the Town Clerk to refresh Mr. Shspirots recllection as to the date of the enactment of the ordinance? MRS. TRAVIS: One is December 29th, 1960. Q. And it became effective 10 days thereafter? MRS. TRAVIS: Yes. Q. So that would have been on or about the 10th day of January, 1961, is that correct? MRS. TRAVIS: Yes. MR. BULGER: The 8th would be more correct. 101 Q. On or about then; it was enacted December 29th, 1960, and it became effective the 8th or 9th of January, 1961? A. That is right. Q. Now you said you were familiar with the ordi- nance; were you familiar with Section four, paragraph four which says: "a person presently engaged in or conducting an activity or business such as described herein, on real property within the Town of Wappinger must apply for a license therefor within 30 days of the adoption of this ordinance." A. I did apply for a license. Q. I ask you if you were familiar with that pro- vision? A. Thatts right, and I applied. Q. Will the Town Board please refresh Mr. Shapiro's recollection as to when he applied for and received a tempo- rary license? MRS. TRAVIS: December 12th, 1961. Q. December 12th, 1961; and you were required under the statute Mr. Shapiro to apply within 30 days after 102 the 8th day of January, 1961, and you did not apply in December of that year which was some nine or 10 or 11 months later, is that correct? A. No, I don tt think so. I think I applied right after that thing come in. Q. I would like to point out that thereto; a little discrepancy here as to time MR. ROSEN: The ordinance apparently was not printed up until sometime later and so we could not have been familiar with the provisions of the ordinance until sometime after the effective date. MR. DE CORDOVA: All right, Itm sure the board has taken cognizance of the activities and the failure of Mr. Shapiro to apply within 30 days of the adoption of the ordinance. MR. ROSEN: There seems to be some question on that; his recollection is that he did apply within 30 days and that was the answer. BY MR. WILLIAMS: Q. Mr. Shapiro, are you familiar with the first sentence of Seption 4 of the ordinance which reads: 103 "Each applicant for a license here under shall execute, under oath, an application therefore to be supplied to him by the Town Clerk, which shall contain the following information?" Are you familiar with this section of the ordinance? All it says in fact is that your application for a license shata be made on forms supplied by the Town Clerk? A. Right. Q. Are you familiar with this; what is your recollection as to when the forms were available? A. I do not know, I dont remember exactly. Q. 1 state for the record that the forms are not immediately available upon the adoption of the ordinance. BY MR. DE CORDOVA: Q. Now Mr. Shapiro, according to the application which you filled out, it says in item three that attached hereto is a map indicating the location and nature and all requirements specified in Section 4 of the ordinance for their proposed Location and nature; did you supply a map or plan of said real property of all the requirements, spec - fled? A. Just turn the paper over. 104 Q. Now you submitted this application to the Town Clerk, is that correct? A. That = s right. Q. And did the Town Clerk return this to you for further modification and correction? A. I do not know if he did or not. Q. I ask you to read the notation on that; is that familiar to you at all? A. Yes. I think I must have filled out two of them. Q. Now you received this temporary permit evidently after application on January 4th, 1962, which expired on January 4th or January 5th of 1963, is that correct? A. Yes. December 31st. Q. Now upon December 31st, 1961, were you in compliance with the junk ordinance in all respects? A. No, I worked as much as I could on it; I wasn't finished with it. Q. So from the enactment of the ordinance in December of 1960 until January 1st of 1962, which was in excess of a !gear, and the time you had had your temporary license, you did not fully comply with the provisions of the ordinance, is that correct? 105 A. That's right. Q. And are you familiar with the ordinance which further states: "If at the end of such year such person has not so arranged his place of such activity or business he shall forthwith cease and desist engaging in or conducting the same and shall remove from such place any autos, parts or other materials of the nature described herein." A. I probably read that at the time. Q. But in any event, you did not comply with that provision, is that correct? A. No, I didn't have all my fence up. Q. I mean, you didn't have you did not comply with this provision which provided that you should cease and desist from the automobile business or the junk business and remove your automobiles from the property? A. That is right. MR. WILLIAMS: I'd like to make the same point I made sometime ago Mr. Supervisor. I think it is rather unfair to ask any witness if he complied with the ordinance I think, but to ask him for 106 the conclusion of what he valued the ordinance, I think is a little bit more than should be done. MR. DE CORDOVA: Well, he admitted it; he just admitted it. T said, "was he in compliance with the ordinance," and he said, "no." MR. LINGE: On the advice of counsel 1 think we should eliminate that. Q. Now subsequently did you apply for a license Mr. Shapiro? A. Yes I did. You mean in 1962? Q. Yes sir? A. Yes I did. Q. And was it granted? A. Yes. 1 don't know if it was temporary or not. Q. And who granted it to you? A. Well, 1 don't know; there's a letter there that come with the license. Q. Well, where did you make application for it? A. "Helen Travis, Town Clerk . " Q. Now to get back to the original application Mr. Shapiro, when you applied to the Town Board for your original application, were you in business at that time, 107 were you conducting a used automobile and parts business on the property? A. I sold some parts. Q. At the time this ordinance was enacted, the time you applied for this permit you were already in business, is that correct? A. That is right. Q. Well sir, why did you apply for a new license rather than a temporary license at that time? A. Well, they didn't have no auto parts license in Wappingers before that. Q. In 1961, on the 12th Day of December, 1961, there was an ordinance, is that correct? A. I -don s t know what date. Q. Well, wasn't it enacted in 1960, and in Decem- ber of 1961 you made application, is that right? A. Yes. MR. BULGER: Mr. De Cordova, we're back on the same point that the application for the license was not available to any citizen of the town. MR. DE CORDOVA: On this application - there are three types of applications whibh he can apply A. Yes. l�f for. He can apply for a new license, for a per- son starting out to engage in this business, he can apply for a renewed license, or he can apply for a temporary license which applies to the people, and have not been given a year to comply; the point being that this man applied for a new license, meaning one, he had not yet commenced the business of being a junk dealer. Now I think this goes a deliberate misstatement of fact in his application, and I'd like to bran€; this to the Board's attention MR. FRANCESE: -- I think any discrepancies that may be in that application has been verified by the witnesses' testimony that he was in business before he made the application. I don't think you can hold any discrepancy that there is. in that, in the fact that maybe he thought he was just applying for a new license, not fully reali2,- ing what type of license he was applying for. MRS. TRAVIS: It says, "temporary" on your licenE e . MR. FRANCESE: By Mr. Shapiro's testimony we f ul]y los realize that he was in business before this ordi- nance went into effect and by his own testimony that he was at the public hearing, represented, as being represented as one of these dealers at the time of the public hearing, should verify the fact that he was in business at the time. Q. Now Mr. Shapiro, do you work full time on these premises? A. No, I work part time. Q. Where else do you work? A. I work in the "Hudson Auto Wreckers." Q. And what is your job there? A. 1 sell auto parts. Q. And are you an employee? A. That t s right. Q. Are you in any way an owner of the corporation? A. 1 am in the corporation. Q. Are you a stockholder? A. Yes 1 am. Q. Are you an officer of that corporation? MR. ROSEN: To this I object. MR. DE CORDOVA: I will connect this if you bear 11C with me one moment. MR. ROSEN: ZTSI object to this; to you members of the Town Board, on the ground that it has no bearing on the violation. The purpose of this hearing MR. DE CORDOVA: -- It may very well if I have a chance to connect it up Dick, violate the ordi- nance . MR. ROSEN: His connection with another outfit has no bearing on his present outfit. MR. LINGE: I can see where it possibly might be of interest, so pursue it rapidly. Q. Mr. Shapiro, you keep records of the ownership of all the veihicles in your business? A. Yes I do. Q. And from whom they are purchased according to law? A. That is right. Q. Now are each and every vehicle that has ever been on your property on Widmer Road, have they all been personally and individually owned by you as an individual or have some of them been owned by Mid Hudson Auto Wreckors, 111 Inc.,? A. No, they have not. MR. ROSEN: I object;who the care were owned by is not pertinent here. MR. WILLIAMS: I fail to see the connection, but -- Q. -- What is your answer? A. It has nothing to do with the Mid Hudson Auto Wreckers. Q. Are all of these vehicles which have ever beer on your property for business purposes other than your vehicles? Were they owned at the time they were on your property, owned by any person other than yourself as an individual? A. Yes; I tow automobiles off the road. I have a 24 hour towing service and I have cars there that doesn't belong to me because I towed them in. Q. Were any of those automobiles on your property at the time they were towed into your property ever owned by Mid Hudson Auto Wreckers? A. No they haven't. Q. Were they ever owned in partnership with any other firm? A. No they haven't. 112 MR. ROSEN: 1 think counsel has gone far enough along this line, MR. DE CORDOVA: I'm trying to find out if any- one else was ever in partnership. MR. BULGER: Well, he told. you., 113 SYDNEY SHAPIRO, called as a witness, being first duly sworn, testified as follows: MRS, TRAVIS: Your full name is what? A. Sydney Shapiro. Q. And your address? A. Route #9-D, Wappingers Falls, New York. DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. ROSEN: Q. Syd, are you the brother of Sol Shapiro? A. Yes sir, Q. And did you observe the premises when Sol moved in six years ago? A. Yes I did. Q. Did you observe his activities on this property from that time down to the present? A. Well, he's worked at it pretty steady. Q. And you observed him building the fence? A. Yee I have. Q. Have you examined this fence recently? A. Well, I haven't been there in the past six weeks. Q. You examined this fence approximately six 112 weeks ago? A. Six or seven weeks ago. Q. And that would be in the month of February? A. Well, it was the 3rd day of February that I was there. Q. And on the 3rd Day of February, was the fence bordering on Widmer Road completed? A. I thought it was. Q. And did you go up to this fence and look at ilia? A. No sir, I did not. I drove in and I had some business to do at the house. Q. Well, how close were you to this fence? A. At the road to the driveway. Q. That would be about how far then from the fence? A. Well, I drove in his driveway; in fact, 1 plowed his driveway. Q. Then you came within what distance from this fence? A. Well, going through it would be right at it. Q. Right at the fence? In other words, several feet from the fence? A. That's right. Q. And what type of fence was this? 115 A. I guess its what they call "cattle box wire." Q. And what was the space between? A. They run anywheres from an inch and a half in height to approximately eight inches. Q. About how high was this fence? A. Well, I don It remember whether itis four or five foot measure. Q. And does this fence extend; did it extend on February 3rd, 1963, the entire length of this property on Widmer Road? A. Yes it did. Q. Did you also observe a portion of the fence on the westerly side of his property? A. Yes I did. Q. And was there a fence up there? A. Well, it was part of his fence and it -was part of the fence that was put up by the people that own the house up on the hill. Q. And was there also a fence on the easterly side of his property which would be near his trailer home? A. I noticed part of it, yes, coming out of the lower drive- way. 116 Q. And have you observed the position of the useel cars and the wrecked cars on the premises of Sol Shapiro? A. The majority of them are quite a ways in the field. Q. And are all of the cars and parts and materials more than 10 feet back from the road? A. I would say so. Q. Now how many times have you visited, let's sar monthly, before February 3rd, 1963, the premises of Sol Shapiro? A. Well, I've plowed his driveway everytime it snowed this winter. Q. And during the fall, summer and spring, how many times do you visit his home, his premises? A. Oh, once a week, twice a week. Q. And all the times you have visited Salts place of business, have you visited any children by his property? A. Never have seen any. Q. Has Sol had a sign indicating his business on his property going back to the beginning of 1962? A. Well, he's had that sign out on the front of his post since the day he moved in there I guess. Q. Which was in 1957 or 1958? 117 A. I believe so. Q. And is that clearly visible to passers-by on the highway on Widmer Road? A. Yes. Q. Have you ever been there on a Sunday? A. Occasionally. I work every other Sunday. Q. And have you ever seen Sol work on his property on Sunday? A. Hello done quite a bit of farming. Q. But have you ever seen any work on his cars on Sunday, you yourself? A. On Sunday? No. CROSS EXAMINATION BY MR. DE CORDOVA: Q. Mr. Shapiro, who owned the car, the green and yellow car that has Mid Hudson Auto Wreckers painted across the side of it located on your brother's property? A. I don't know what car you're talking about. MR. ROSEN: I object. The ownership of a particu- lar car on the lot again is getting into the same type of thing we got into before which shows to 11t be of no relevance to the issues at hand. MR. BULGER: He showed a connection before and he's trying to establish the same connection again. MR. ROSEN: The ownership of one particular car on the lot has no bearing on the issues here tonight. MR. BULGER: Let's find out how far he wants to go. MR. DE CORDOVA: There is a vehicle presently on the premises I am informed that has in paint writ- ten on the side of the car, "Mid Hudson Auto Wreckers," and it's a -- MR. SOL SHAPIRO: -- I would like to straighten you out on that. It's Mid Hudson Valley Motors; not Mid Hudson Auto Wreckers. Q. I may have the wrong information. Mr. Shapirc, were there any vehicles owned to your knowledge, were there any vehicles on Mr. Sol Shapiro's property which at any time belonged to you or partially belonged to you or which you had an interest in or which Mid Hudson Auto Wreckers had an interest in? A. Yes. MR. ROSEN: I •object to this. It is not relevant; 119 these questions about the ownership of cars on the lot does not involve the fence, does not involve fire extinguishers and does not involve the dangers to children. Q. Let him answer it -- MR. ROSEN: -- It's not getting at the issues. A. There were times when he drove a wrecker home. Q. Pardon me? A. There were times when he drove a wrecker home with Mid Hudson Auto Wreckers Inc., on the door. Q. I asked you if there are any automobiles, not usable cars; not every day run -about cars or vehicles used in your business; were there any wrecks - I don't know what the term is in the trade, any salvage vehicles located on those premises which at anytime were owned by you or Mid - Hudson Auto Wreckers or partially by you or partially by Mid Hudson Auto Wreckers, where either you or Mid Hudson Auto Wreckers had a partial interest? A. Well, let me say this; we have two yards and we keep Mid - Hudson Auto Wreckers property in those two yards, and this isntt owned by Mid Hudson or partially owned by Mid Hudson, so there are none of Mid Hudson cars on Widmer Road. 12C Q. So you can state then there are no wrecked vehicles or salvaged vehicles on your brother's property that were owned by anyone else than your brother? A. No, I didn't say that. Q. Or by you? A. Or by me. MR. LINGE: I fail to see what you're ,getting at. There may be cars of customers whose cars were towed in. Why is the point being raised? MR. ROSEN: That was my whole objection. MR. LINGE: Please don't pursue it any further. MR. DE CORDOVA: Mr. Supervisor, I direct your attention to the application where it says: "if there are any partnerships of other people involved in these applications, and if there were any such partnerships or anything else, it would be a misstatement of fact in the application." I'm trying to bring this out. Furthermore, there are some otheroollateral issues which in view of the answers here that I don't want to bring out because of the possible embarras- sment to the witnesses; but, the answer has been 121 negative and I'm going to drop it. I'm not try- ing to waste your time here. MR. LINGE: You didn't make that point before. MR. DE CORDOVA: I'm not about to let the cat out of the bag; I am through with the witness. I respectfully submit I have no further witnesses or rebuttal witnesses. MR. WILLIAMS: Mr. Rosen, do you have any further argument? It is customary for the prosecution as_ it's called to close: BY MR. RO SEN : Members of the Board: My client, Sol Shapiro, bought eight acres of land in the Town of Wappingers in 1957 or 1958. At that time there were no ordinances relat- ing to second hand auto dealers, and as any person who owns property, where there are no restrictions will do, he decided to develop his property the way he wanted as he had every legal right to do. It was his land and he did what he thought was right. He proceeded to bull -doze the area; he obtained a temporary permit after the ordinance was passed, and there- after, from the time that he was issued this temporary permit 122 to the present date he made every effort to put the fence Up. He has testified and his brother has testified and Dwight Robbins who inspected the property has testified that he has substantially completed the fence. Dwight Rob- bins who is an official of the town has examined this fence and found that it has not been completed on the west side of the property for several feet and on the east side of the property for several feet. Other than this one thing, other than the fence not being completed at that point, he has found no other violations. Going along with that of course, he feels upon the completion of the fence the danger to the children will be ended. He has found that the fire extinguishers meet with approval and he feels that they are installed properly. Here is a man, Sol Shapiro, who is going into business full time in the used supply parts; this is his livelihood, he has a wife and two girls, four years old and 18 months to support. They live on this land, it's their land, it's their livelihood, it's their business. This is all he has. He is not going to work part time in the near future. He is going to work full time in this business and 123 he is going to comply with all the provisions of the Town of Wappingers. He has about completed and has made every assurance that he will complete it. He has a fence out - lined on the went side of his property; he is about to com- plete the other side. He has completed the entire frontage along.Widmer Road. Sol Shapiro has never had any complaints about any children or any person coming on his property. Now if children had come onto the property and gone over the fence in an area which might have been dangerous, don't you think that the parents of those children should have brought it to Mr. Shapiro's attention? Mr. Shapiro has never had any complaints about his fence from anyone, and his fence is adequate to protect children from entering the property. It's of a good box wire construction; it's not a barbed wire fence, it's not dangerous, it's not the type of a fence that if a child touches it she or he will be hurt. There is nothing in the testimony to show that this fence is in any way dangerous to the children and there's no testimony that children made a practice of going onto hi property. There has been testimony that the cars are place in a wide area; that they are spread apart, that there are 12) more than sufficient fire lanes to permit passage. And now I want to mention another fact that I neglected to mention in the beginning, and that is tonight that there was supposed to have been here at this hearing people who lived directly opposite Sol Shapiro, who live just as close as some of the people who have testified here and who canc,see this property; they were going to come tonight, and both of them are working unfortunately. Their names are De].brow. I have no other witnesses to present here tonigh except Sol and his brother and I would have had these other people, and it means everything to Sol, d since he is going to comply fully within the next month, I feel that as a matter of justice, as a matter of preventing somebody from losing his property and from going down the drain, that you should give consideration to continuing his license so that he may comply immediately. Thank you very much. 12' BY MR. DE CORDOVA: If it please the Town Board: I bring to your attention the last paragraph of the ordinance which says the presence of such junk yards in an area zoned for busineps and industry is unsightly and intends to detract from the surrounding land or property, etc., 1 further call to your attention the other pro- visions of the contract of the ordinance which provides for the proper maintenance of the requirements to comply with the details and requirements of the ordinance which were admittedly not complied with at the time the ordinance was enacted nor complied with at the time the temporary permit was applied for nor complied with at the time the temporary permit expired and that through some manner or means the license was issued irn,spite of the fact that the ordinance is mandatory in as much as it says that during this tempo- rary period he must, the licensee must arrange the place to comply with the requirements herein, and admittedly he had not complied. It further is ma7.atory if at the end of such mandatory or temporary period he shall forthwith cease and desist in engaging and conducting in the same and shall 12 removein from such place any auto parts and materials which he did not do. The Board was put on notice, Petition was submitted to the Board at the January meeting of the Board. Subsequently the license was issued. We are now faced with a problem of revocation of the license. What are the grounds for revocation? The grounds for revocation are, if he does not conduct his busi- ness in accordance with the regulations of the ordinance, upon proper hearing the license may be revoked by the Town Board. Here we have a man who has admittedly not complied; he has started by going into business back in 1957 or 1958 by his own admission. He has had six years almost to build a fence around his property. He's been in the junk business for a longtime, his family and brothers have been in the junk business for a long time; they had other junk yards which are properly fenced under the zoning ordinance of the Town of Poughkeepsie. He knows that junk yards are nuisances and are attractive nuisances to children, and that's why the ordinances are enacted. He has admittedly failed to qualify, he has not progressed satisfactorily in making these fences. Mr. Rosen has erroneously stated that the only 127 fences are missing are on the east and west iines, but the entire south line is not fenced. This lack of compliance has existed not only since he occupied the place, but spe- cifically since the ordinance was enacted in December of 1960. He has had almost two and a half yoars to comply and has still not complied, and it wasn't until this notice of revocation hearing was published that any attempt was made to put up a new fence. This was started, Monday now, of this week. Now if some child had been killed, some little small child who obviously - children don't pay attention to this type of direction which this type of a nuisance was capable of causing; was down that hill when that car rolled down the hill was killed, that would be small satisfaction, and Mr. Shapiro probably had no insurance, as the loss of a child couldn't be compensated by money. Not only is it a nuisance and a detraction from the value and sight of property, but it is a danger, and this person has admittedly not complied. It is the request of the people and the many residents that are here tonight as you can see that were concerned in this matter who have appeared before you on 12E many many occasions, and that's why I am here and they have retained me to bid that this license be revoked because of admitted no compliance for suspension of the use of these premises which I assume is a violation of the non -conforming: use of the zoning ordinance as well, but more that he has violated this junk statute and has made no real serious attempt to comply until he was faced with an automatic rev&cation. We petition the Town Board very respectfully that his license be revoked; that the property be returned to residential use and that the Town Board require the remo- val of the auto parts and materials that are on the propert7 and to restore the neighborhood to a residential neighbor- hood and to restore the value to the premises which surround this piece of property which have deteriorated quite rapidly since the expansion of this junk yard. I thank you very much for your attention. Mit. LINGE: In the interests of getting the Town Police Officers on duty on time, I'd like to proceed with Mr. Witchey's hearing at this time please. It is very likely that a decision will be made in both cases tonight. 129 MRS. TRAVIS: The temporary license was issued on January 4th, last year, and the one this year was February 4th, 1963. DWIGHT ROBBINS RECALLED: A. may name is Dwight Robbins, I live at 10 Dutches.s Terrace in the Village of Wappingers Falls. On the inspection I pulled on Mr. Wit.chey's pro- perty down there, the only violation at the time was regard- ing extinguishers. He had extinguishers in the building and on the jeep. I was back there again today and since that time he has purchased two extra extinguishers which he is going to place down where he keeps the so called salvage trucks and various equipment which he has, which is properly fenced,. That's down in off the main road. He does have several other pieces of equipment which are up along the side of the road entirely clear of the road or any of the State Property. Those are pieces of equipment which can be sold and can be moved, they are not jijnk. So the only thing at the time was the extinguisher end of it, and since that time Mr. Witchey has purchased twc extra extinguishers which he is going to place down in that 130 said property. BY MR. WTT1T,IAMS : Q. Mr. Robbins, what kind of fence does Mr. Witchey have? A. It's mostly wire fence. Q. What kind of wire? A. He has some box wire and then he has some other finer wire; I don't know just what they call it. It's a heavy fence. MR. LINGE: Chain link? A. Chain link, some of it. Q. And how much of this property does he have fenced? A. He has the one whole section down in back of his house, that's all fenced off with a gate; one entrance to it, that's all fenced around in there where he has those pieces of equipment. He has two or three other things in back of his garage which I observed at all times which he has moved out of there. On trespass, it's very good, because I didn'. make myself known at the time, and of course Mr. Witchey knows me when I went down to inspect and I went down imme- diately to the lower part, and I didn't get down to the gate 131 until one of his employees came to me. So he lives nearby MR. HAIT -- So in other words, with these new extinguishers, in your opinion he complies with the regulations? A. I would say yes. ATTORNEY FROM NEWBURGH: Q. Constable, how would you characterize the general appearance of this junk area as compared with junk yards; is it messy, neat, clean; how would you describe it? A. Neat; I would compare Mr. Shapiro's neat too. Q. Well, 'tin just interested in Mr. Witchey? A. Mr. Witchey's is neat, yes. MR. LINGE: Is there anyone here who would advo- cate revocation of the license of Mr. Witchey? ATTORNEY FROM NEWBURGH: Well, rather than put Mr. Witchey on the stand, if I could take about a minute and a half to two minutes to make a very brief statement, would that be allrgith? MR. LINGE: Please do. ATTORNEY FROM NEWBURGH: I apologize for being brief with you. Mr. Witchey has been in business at the same locatinn for over 30 years, 132 When the ordinance was passed he was interested and took part in the hearings and afterwards made every attempt to comply. When Constable Robbins came down and found a viola- tion, Mr. Witchey immediately did his best to correct the violation. Even before that, Mr. Witchey conducts no burn- ing on the premises and when he does have occasion, he used a cutting torch, and there was an extinguisher on the jeep. There's never been a complaint to Mr. Witchey's knowledge about any youngsters trespassing; he's got a fence which completely surrounds the area. His junk yard area - he doe,e conduct other business there, but he does have a tight fence around the area which I believe complies with - in order to satisfactorily comply with the ordinances he has during the summer of 1961 and 1962 expended a substantial amlunt of money running into the thousands of dollars for f '�°w?d fencing and everything else, and I think not only has Mr. Witchey attempted to comply with you, but he has complied with the ordinance and I do ask your favorable consideration in not revoking his license. Thank you. Attorney from Newburgh: Gilbert Rashbaum, Esq., Herbst & Rashbaum, Esqs., 94 Grand Street Newburgh, New York Appearing on behalf of Mr. Witchey. 13: MR. LINGE: Ladies and Gentlemen: In the matter of the license of Sol Shapiro, the Town Board finds (one) that Mr. Shapiro's junk yard abuts a residential area on the easterly and westerly sides of the property. (two) that although he's had ample time to do so, he has failed to erect the kind of fence speci- fied in subdivision B, Section 6 of the ordinance in some portions of the easterly and westerly lines of his property. (three) that although he has had ample time to do so, he has failed to erect on the portion of the easterly and westerly lines of his property, (and that such fence is necessary) under subdivi- sion B of Section 6 of the ordinance - excuse me - its is therefore the feeling of the Town Board •that his license should be revoked and I will ask for at this time for confirmation from members of the Board: Mr. Robinson; yes, Mr. Halt; yes, Mr. Bulger; yes, Mr. Francese; yes. MR. WILLIAMS: Mr. Supervisor, you may thereby declare that it is revoked. 134 MR. LINGE: It is thereby revoked. MR. DE CORDOVA: Is it also the Board's determina- tion for the removal of auto parts and accessories from the premises? The Town Board may require the removal; it doesn't say they shall be removed, so I am requesting a, determination of the board as to whether the board shall require. Next to last paragraph of subdivision 5. I ask the Town Board to vote on whether they desire the removal. MR. LINGE: I think the Town Board ought to go into a huddle first. On the license of Mr. Witchey the Town Board are unanimous in finding that there is no cause for revocation. Mr. Robinson; yes, Mr. Hait; yes, Mr. Bulger, yes, Mr. Francese; yes. FIVE MINUTE CONFERENCE BY BOARD: MR. LING: In the case of the salvage yard of Sol Shapiro, the Board is determined that they will allow 60 days for him to remove the parts and equipment which he has on the premises. Will you confirm that, members of the Board, this is 135 our decision? Mr. Robinson; yes, Mr. Hait; yes, min. Bulger, yes Mr. Francese; yes. MR. ROSEN: Effective as of tomorrow? MR. LINGE: Yes. Adjourned.