Clintons Did Not Obtain Permits to Renovate Their New Chappaqua Home, Records Show

NY Times ^ | 29 Oct 16 | STEVE EDER

[SkyPilot]

Hillary and Bill Clinton purchased a second home in Chappaqua, N.Y., on the same street as their current one, seen here in 2000.

It is a necessary evil for any homeowner: a visit to the town building office to obtain the proper permits for upgrades.

Hillary and Bill Clinton apparently skipped that required step when they began ambitiously renovating the house they purchased for $1.16 million this summer in the upscale New York hamlet of Chappaqua, according to records from the town building inspector.

Those records, first reported and posted online by The Journal News, based in White Plains, revealed that the town received a complaint in early October about excavation work at the Clintons’ new home that seemed related to the removal of dead trees. But when an inspector arrived, he noticed that a much bigger project was underway: The home was being renovated, complete with an updated kitchen; a new heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system; walls being moved; and the backfilling of a swimming pool with gravel.

Without informing the town to obtain the proper permits, the Clintons apparently set the project in motion soon after they bought the house in August, with an eye toward having everything ready for the holidays. “I was told that the owners wanted to have all work done and finished by Thanksgiving and were quite adamant about it,” William Maskiell, the building inspector for New Castle, N.Y., wrote in his inspection report after speaking to a contractor.

[SkyPilot]

Laws? Laws are for the little people!

If I started a rennovation in my town without permits, the township would crucify me. Not only would I have to rip out the work I had done, but I would be paying hefty fines and facing legal difficulty. Oh, not to mention the state environmental protection agencies come after people who don't obtain permits.

[teeman8r]

Good for them. Now let’s hang them on what they really did wrong.

[SkyPilot]

The permit process — which comes with fees, inspections and, potentially, elevated property assessments — can be cumbersome and is familiar to the millions of voters who own homes and have made upgrades. Some may be sympathetic to the Clintons’ stumbling on the local regulations, while others could see them as feeling as though the rules do not apply to them. Brian Fallon, Mrs. Clinton’s campaign spokesman, did not return a message seeking comment on Saturday.

OF COURSE your property tax assessment goes up when you renovate, ESPECIALLY in NY state.

Taxes, like laws, are for the proletariat.

[Sacajaweau]

Let’s not change the subject.....Emails...The continuing saga of defiance and defeat!

[FES0844]

She’ll blame her contractors.

[Ouderkirk]

Ask Roger Scott about what they did to his house....

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/04/nyregion/finale-to-zoning-opera.html

They demolished his house, and backcharged him for the work.

[conservative98]

Notice the NYT ends the article with a shot at Trump.

[SkyPilot]

You're right:

Mrs. Clinton’s opponent, Donald J. Trump, also has ties to Westchester County, where he owns an estate in Bedford and a golf club in Briarcliff Manor. Last year, Mr. Trump tried to minimize the value of the golf course to save on property taxes.

What Trump did was LEGAL. NY state tried to gouge him on the assessment, and he challenged it. Homeowners are forced to do this every single day. Property taxes in NJ are a racket to extort money from citizens to fund our out of control pension system.

But what Bill and Hillary did was ILLEGAL. It is against the law to rennovate without proper permits. And it isn't just one permit. You require structural, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, even one for the fireplaces.

[Son House]

This can indicate the Clinton’s are just plain greedy.

[SkyPilot]

Let’s not change the subject.....Emails

I diagree. This is yet another example of the Clinton's lawlessness. Moreover, it is one that is easier for the great unwashed to understand. Many of the low to mid-information voters cannot grasp all of the details of the Weiner-Huma-Hillary-Comey-Mills-Lynch fiasco, but they can understand breaking the laws that apply to them (like permits).

[GOPJ]

The New York Times is attempting to ‘give the appearance’ of being ‘hard on both sides’... They probably believe their own BS... the rest of us get a good laugh.

Next round of buy-outs and downsizing coming soon...

[Sacajaweau]

Let's be real....The local building inspector knew all about their renovations....and didn't shut them down. Go after the Building Inspector. And of course, the contractor knew he needed the permits.

I've been associated with this type of incident for 30 years....

So they now get a permit, take care of any penalties, maybe go before a board and it ends. Happens every day.

[CincyRichieRich]

Robbing all of the state employees union folks of work they are entitled to...

[Sacajaweau]

Contractors are the ones who get permits in many cases.

[mewzilla]

I take it you don’t live in NYS? Where confiscatorily high property taxes are driving people out of their homes, keeping others out of homes? IN NYS, this could be a very big deal, if they were trying to avoid property taxes and/or cheating w/regard to the STAR program.

[mewzilla]

Homeowner still bear ultimate responsibility, however, for seeing that permits are pulled. AND prominently posted.

[miss marmelstein]

I guess property taxes are only for the little people, huh?

[miss marmelstein]

Of course they were cheating! It’s in their DNA and, of course, they would blame the contractor - blaming others is also in their DNA. I am a homeowner in NJ so you can well understand why my blood boils reading this story. Suddenly Leona Helmsley is looking like the soul of humility and honesty.

[mewzilla]

I live in NYS. I get it.

[ronnie raygun]

I bet they both wish this was their biggest problem in life so far, he he he he he he he he he he he he he he