CONTACT: Eric Durr, (518) 786-4581 or (cell) (518) 419-5186

FOR RELEASE: Monday, Aug 04, 2008

BUFFALO, NY (08/04/2008; 1201--The New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs has asked the Chief Petty Officers (CPO) Club of Western New York to begin addressing the structural defects in the state-owned building the club occupies at 5 Porter Avenue in Buffalo within the next 90 days. If the CPO Club fixes the deficiencies which the Division's inspectors have identified in the building, they can resume use of the facility. The CPO Club is responsible for the cost of correcting these deficiencies. In a letter sent to Karl Page, the president of the CPO Club, the division's facilities director, Paul McDonald, said that the club could continue to operate in the building if it makes a good faith effort to remedy code violations identified by the division's facilities engineers. These safety code deficiencies include exit doors which are blocked or not functioning, leaks in the roof, an inoperative sprinkler system, a lack of exit signs and emergency lighting, and a fire suppression system which is not adequate for protecting all cooking appliances. Because of these issues the Division of Military and Naval Affairs initially proposed demolishing the building. The agency was concerned that the club was using the property for public events and that in the event of a fire or accident the state of New York would be liable. That decision has been reconsidered based on community input and concern. Instead the Division of Military and Naval Affairs will work with the CPO Club to help make this 1930's-era building safe. This change is conditional, however, "with an understanding that the CPO Club will show an earnest desire to move forward," the letter says. "These safety code deficiencies are a serious concern to this agency," the letter says. "The potential impact on the health and well-being of your membership and the public at large remains our concern." The Division of Military and Naval Affairs will allow the CPO club to continue to occupy this state-owned building so that repairs can be made on the building's deficiencies under these conditions: --The CPO Club may not sell, prepare or serve food or alcoholic beverages until all remediation activity is satisfactorily completed. --The CPO Club must obtain and provide an appropriate Certificate of Insurance naming New York State and the Division of Military and Naval Affairs as an additional insured in the amounts of $2 million personal injury and $2 million property damage. --The Division of Military and Naval Affairs will provide the CPO Club with a license, revocable at will, allowing club representatives, contractors, and vendors to enter the premises only for the purposes of preparing estimates, plans and other necessary documents to assemble the remediation plan. --The Division of Military and Naval Affairs, upon approval of the remediation plan will issue a second revocable license to the CPO Club to perform necessary repairs and changes. While the Division of Military and Naval Affairs wants to help the CPO Club continue to operate, this reconsideration does not allow or sanction the CPO club to continue to operate while addressing and remediating the building code deficiencies. The building used by the CPO Club was once a facility for the New York Naval Militia. In the 1950s it was turned over to the U.S. Navy Reserve which used it as a training facility until the existing Naval Operational Support Center was constructed in 1971. At that time the CPO Club was located in the current structure and, leased it from the Division of Military and Naval Affairs for $ 1 a year. This lease was based on the CPO Club's status as a non-profit morale and welfare related operation of the Navy and Marine Corps Reserve, and the understanding that the club would maintain the property in an acceptable state. Since then the building has deteriorated and the CPO Club's relationship as an official morale and welfare activity has changed. The CPO Club's lease expired in March of 2001 and was not renewed. The building is not essential for the military activities of the National Guard or the New York Naval Militia.