At the regular meeting of the New Baltimore Town Board, a public statement was read into the record by resident H.W. Vadney, who rebuffed and rebuked the New Baltimore Town Board and Mr Denis Jordan, especially, for failing in their duties and obligations under the law, and their dereliction and abuse of public office. At one point during the public statement, the agent of the New Baltimore resident whose property was severely damaged by surface water runoff due to the failure of the New Baltimore Highway Departments failure, under the personal and direct supervision of Mr Denis Jordan, New Baltimore Superintendent of Highways, served the resident’s Notice of Claim on New Baltimore Town Supervisor Nicholas Dellisanti and New Baltimore Town Clerk Barbara Finke. Mr Denis Jordan was to have been served at that time but he failed to appear at the meeting, most likely in hiding once he got word that a public statement was to be read and town officials served with the Notice of Claim. Read the public statement here: Public comment re NB Hwy Dept.

It’s incredible, but true. Three Town of New Baltimore Supervisors later and still the same dumbass in the Highway Superintendent’s office! Last election, New Baltimore Highway Superintendent Denis Jordan was re-elected by one vote over his opponent, 25-year department veteran, Alan vanWormer. Residents just shook their heads in disbelief but that was how the election was won — after the fact, of course, New Baltimore Republicans stood there pointing their fingers at George Acker and his Independence Party mob for not getting out the Independence Party voters. And, YES, the Greene County Board of Elections is a corrupt band of political hacks who dance to the tune of their own messiahs playing “Jack my Beanstalk” on their skin flutes. Crude? Yes. But frustration and anger chip away at poisonous PC.

What do you think goes through the mind of a potential buyer or developer when …

Like it or not, the condition of our town streets and roads are a factor in our property values. What do you think goes through the mind of a potential buyer or developer when they drive through the Town of New Baltimore and see poorly maintained roads, culverts that are demolished or that disappear into nowhere, erosion along the roadside, potholes filled with water? What is the sense of having a so-called National Historic District if its streets are about as damaged as the national political parties, as broken as local government. How is it that local voters continue to elect incompetent, uneducated, corrupt people to head our town highway departments, when those very people have reputations for corruption, ignorance, and incompetence? What does that say about you, Mr or Ms New Baltimore Voter, property owner? Not much, you can be sure. But that’s how you made your bed, and now you have to sleep in it. But that’s not necessarily so because there is a way, it’s called a Notice of Claim followed by a lawsuit.

Madison Ave East and New Street Drainage

Well, Denis Jordan has done it again. He’s attracted another potentially damaging lawsuit for his incompetence and arrogance. This time for extensive property damage to a residential structure on New Street in the National Historic District of the Hamlet in the Town of New Baltimore. After neglecting New Street literally for years, one resident got fed up and demanded that the Town Board investigate Why? the drainage installations on New Street hadn’t been touched for at least 3 years! Why was water draining everywhere but in the storm drains. Everyone could see it. Everyone, that is, but the Town Board and the Superintendent of Highways, who was busy as a beaver, “chasing beaver out of conduits” according to his “notes” produced in response to a FOIL demand.

The Grand Tour of Neglect and Incompetence

After having received demands for the production of documents under the New York State Public Officers Law a.k.a. the Freedom of Information Act, the New Baltimore Town Board finally woke up and smelled the burning coffee, all the water had run into a local resident’s foundation and the building was collapsing, now there was only the sickening stench of burning coffee and a looming lawsuit. So, in response to the resident’s demands to make a site visit to view the New Baltimore Highway Department’s indifference and neglect, and their incompetence, Mr Nick Dellisanti, New Baltimore Town Supervisor, and Mr Jeff Ruso, New Baltimore Deputy Supervisor, appeared unannounced on New Street, prior to the scheduled site inspection set for June 20, when Highway Superintendent Denis Jordan and his minions were to be present, and the resident gave them the Grand Tour of Incompetence and Neglect.

The Grand Tour of Incompetence and Neglect was almost complete when the advance group approached the concerned residence and the resident pointed out the erosion trails crossing New Street to the other side of the road, and pointed out the piles of stone that had washed down and had built up in front of the garage doors, when Mr Ruso pointed out the end of a culvert that appeared to be crossing the road but didn’t seem to come out anywhere. Even a bit of digging and scratching and the end could not be found. Even New Baltimore Deputy Highway Superintendent Scott van Wormer was surprised and stated that “In twenty years he never knew that culvert was there.” We have to ask the burning question: If the regular maintenance inspections were done as required by the law, wouldn’t the New Baltimore Highway Department have known about this situation? This led to further examination and it was ascertained that the poorly maintained drainage on New Street and the buried culvert drains were obviously conducting water into the foundation of the affected building!!! It was thus determined that the fact of the buried culvert, the drainage ditches that had not been cleared for years, and the resulting re-routing of runoff to the foundations of the building were the actual cause of the damage. That was on June 19, 2016.

On June 20, 2016, Mr Dellisanti, Mr Ruso, Ms Shelli van Etten (NB board member), Mr Denis Jordan and his deputy (his brother) appeared to do the actual inspection. The same results were determined. Mr Jordan just made excuses and grinned stupidly.

Denis Jordan’s Playpen

A couple of days later, a road crew appeared with excavation equipment and dump trucks filled with stone, and they proceeded to dig up the buried culvert and to replace it with a plastic culvert. When asked why they were replacing a culvert that appeared to be quite OK — it was obviously buried so long that it was actually protected — the answer was that it was found to be damaged. But, countered the resident, you didn’t do any tests or flush it out. How did you know it was damaged? Then the excuses flowed like the Hudson during Spring thaw. But the question wasn’t answered. Tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars squandered because Mr Jordan didn’t ask the Fire Department to flush the culvert. Mr Jordan preferred to squander tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars rather than rent a camera for a couple of hundred dollars to view the inside of the culvert. New Baltimore budgetary and fiscal accountability at work.

WHAT A MESS! Tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars squandered by indifference, negligence, incompetence and ignorance!!!

The resident was observing the screwing around disguised as highway maintenance and became concerned that more damage was being done than problems solved. He then notified the town board and the New Baltimore Highway Department that work should be stopped until a site visit could be made and the plans discussed. Mr Dellisanti, Mr Ruso, Ms van Etten, Mr Jordan all ignored that request and the work continued. WHAT A MESS! Tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars squandered by indifference, negligence, incompetence and ignorance!!!

It appears that Mr Jordan doesn’t have a clue about contracts, handling money, keeping records, or acceptable hiring practices

And the result? The Town of New Baltimore and the Town of New Baltimore Highway Department, and Mr Denis Jordan are being served with a Notice of Claim — You can read or download a redacted copy of the Notice of Claim by clicking here — but in summary, the resident is demanding that the Town of New Baltimore pay compensation for the repair of the building or, if the building cannot be repaired, to foot the bill for demolition and remediation. In addition, the resident is seeking compensation for other expenses such as loss of revenues and loss of use of the property as purchased. What is really important, though, is that the resident is demanding that the New Baltimore Highway Department be investigated, audited and examined for irregularities in recordkeeping, accounting, hiring and retention, and other areas of concern. It appears that Mr Jordan doesn’t have a clue about contracts, handling money, keeping records, or acceptable hiring practices. Like you don’t hire your brother and then make him your deputy highway superintendent. And you don’t hire a husband and wife etc. Recordkeeping is non-existent so there’s not a chance of a snowflake in hell to defend against any claims of indifference or negligence. The resident is also demanding that steps be taken to remove Mr Jordan from office and to hire an interim replacement. The Notice of Claim also demands that those employees found to have been involved in misconduct or negligence or abuse of public office be prosecuted and made to reimburse the people of the Town of New Baltimore for the costs of the lawsuits.

Several Days after Jordan’s Pothole “Repair” on New Street

The bottom line is this: For years residents have known about Denis Jordan’s incompetence. At least three previous New Baltimore Supervisors and town boards have received complaints about how Denis Jordan was abusing his elected office; his corrupt practices are practically common knowledge if not legendary in local circles. Now his wife, Diane Jordan, is right in the Office of the Town of New Baltimore Town Clerk, so he’s got a mole there who can tip him off almost immediately when something turns up that involves him or his irregular operations in the New Baltimore Highway Department.

As for New Baltimore residents and friends of Denis Jordan, you are just as much to blame for the damage Jordan has managed to do in the Town of New Baltimore as anyone. So don’t get all uppity and smug, pointing the finger at anyone! You dumbasses caused this problem by electing your own dumbass to be Highway Superintendent. If his incompetence is costing the town money in defending against residents’ lawsuits and the damage done by an incompetent Highway Supervisor who has no qualifications, doesn’t get continuing education, avoids meetings with other Highway Superintendents, and knows nothing about highway planning, design, engineering, or regulations. Denis Jordan’s main qualifications are that he takes care of his friends and knows how to avoid work.

Take a Little Tour of New Street With Us

Here’s a nice family activity for the weekend. Take a little tour of New Street in the National Historic District of the Town of New Baltimore and learn how not to do highway maintenance.

If you’re a friend of Denis Jordan or the New Baltimore Highway Department club, or just a skeptic, come on down to New Street in the National Historic District in the Hamlet of New Baltimore. See real-life examples of what we’re bitching about.

As you come down Madison Avenue East, approaching the corner of Madison Avenue East and New Street, look to your right and see the botched up storm drain (which was partially buried until it was cleared around June 20, 2016). A couple of feet more and look to your left and examine the culverts. Nice job, right? If you’re driving or on foot, be very careful making the right turn onto New Street, you might end up going over the unmarked, eroding ledge created by the New Baltimore Highway Department about 4 years ago, when they installed the storm drain and the culverts at the corner. They never bothered to mark the drop-off for safety!

Now turn onto New Street and as you go along ask yourself, Why are all the manhole covers covered and sealed with asphalt? How to you open them if necessary? Denis Jordan would tell you with a straight face that that is a common practice, and that the NB Sewer Department wanted that done to keep water out of the sewer lines! We don’t get it! Do you?

Moving along New Street, we’d like you to notice the erosion at the edge of the road and that the road slopes significantly downhill, to the South (New Street runs approximately North-South). Keep your eyes on the erosion at the edge of the street as you walk along New Street.

About halfway down the street, note the entry steps to the house on the river side of the street. What is that high mound of asphalt doing right at the top of the steps? Imaging that in the Winter, covered with snow and ice, and the dangerous situation caused by the New Baltimore Highway Department!

So far you should have been noticing the not only the erosion but also the so-called drainage ditches. They vary significantly in depth, some stretches deeper, others shallower, some level with the road. Hold on! If they’re level with the road, they’re not a drainage ditch! Right? Right. Why are the ditches not running continuously and at a reasonably constant depth? Ask Mr Jordan. We’re certain he’ll have a story for you.

The best is yet to come. While still noting the so-called drainage ditches and the erosion, you’ll come to a garage on your left and you’ll need to stop here. Note the washed down road covering all built up in that garage driveway and in front of the doors. but standing in front of that garage, look down and to your left and you’ll see a deep hole with a grate in it. That’s a storm drain. Imagine your car tire meeting that hole. Or, imagine you’re walking down New Street and you step into that thing! Another dangerous situation created by the New Baltimore Highway Department in June 2016, when they “repaired” the drains. By the way, that’s the end of the “dead-end culvert” discovered by Mr Ruso at the time of the site visit. Look across the street to the “drainage” in front of the green house. Jordan’s crew dug up the end of the driveway and installed an new culvert and the square grate. What’s supposed to go down that grate, anyway? They never opened the ditch or a ditch.

Now, from where you are standing you can see the erosion dirt in front of the garage and you may be able to see the erosion and runoff tracks crossing New Street to Guess where? Right into the foundations of the blue-gray house! But note how Jordan has “fixed” the drainage problem. Note also the resident’s own concrete barriers and sandbags marking the area. But more importantly, look at the damage done to the foundation of the house! All due to Mr Jordan’s negligence and failure to maintain the drainage on New Street as required by the law.

About 50 feet more and you come to the end of New Street, to the corner of New Street and Washington Avenue. Look to your left, on the river side (But be careful not to fall into the ditch on your right. The road is crumbling into the ditch and the ditch is overgrown. You might never be found if you fall in!). Note the “drainage ditch” if you can find it. it’s an embarrassment to any competent highway worker. But note the makeshift wooden wall there. That’s supposed to do What? That house was condemned by the Town of New Baltimore about 5 years ago because it was structurally unsound due to Guess what? Water damage. The owner repaired it. It’s been vacant ever since and the owner can’t sell it. Wonder Why?

So this is where your tour ends. That’s just one street in New Baltimore. Can you imagine what the rest of the town’s like? We hope you get the point.

In summary, you should know that before the “repair” and “maintenance” work was finished, the resident was concerned about what was being done and asked the Town of New Baltimore Board to stop the work until a site meeting could be held. The resident wanted Mr Jordan to explain his plans and design, and why he was doing what he was doing. It didn’t seem right. Something was wrong and needed to be fixed.

Neither Mr Jordan nor the New Baltimore Town Board responded. That’s how the situation got to where it’s at now.

We want to hear from anyone who knows anything about Denis Jordan and his corruption and incompetence. Most importantly, if you have already made a complaint, filed a lawsuit, or if you have served a Notice of Claim on the Town of New Baltimore and are planning a lawsuit, we want to hear from you. You can either leave a comment on this blog or you can contact us at rcs.confidential@gmail.com.

In the meantime, you can read the latest Notice of Claim against the Town of New Baltimore and Town of New Baltimore Highway Department by clicking the link below:

Notice of Claim for Publishing

You’re On the Spot Now!
Shame on you!