The group gathers promptly at 5 p.m. on May 14, at the property of Steve McCrow, a property that recently earned the distinction of being on Ellenville's list of Top Ten Worst Properties. On that spring evening, Deputy Mayor Ray Younger, Village Manager Elliott Auerbach, Codes Enforcement Officer Brian Schug, Village Trustee Steve Krulick and Ellenville Police Chief Phil Mattracion were there to have a look, and try to determine what can be done to get it cleaned up.

Schug said it was a fire that first called attention to the property and the village began the process of working with Steve McCrow to clean up.

In the yard there were charred stacks of wood and construction debris, but it was the four-bay garage that concerned village officials. Stuffed with "stuff," including bits of machinery, tools, furniture, parts of things, piles of fabric and many other unidentifiable clumps of material, village officials said it is a serious fire hazard.

"If this were to catch fire, it would be – literally – a death trap for firemen," Schug said.

"Much is already thrown out, and more is going to the dump," McCrow said.

"Mr. McCrow has been making this claim for over a year," Schug said. "The oxygen and acetylene tanks are gone, but there are still combustible materials that create a hazard."

Some of the accumulation came from helping someone who was moving and needed to store his things, according to McCrow.

"This is not my fault," McCrow said. He has retained a lawyer and does not deny the charges against him, but has asked for extra time to meet the timetable for clean up.

"At one point, he was still accepting scrap," Schug said. "Fortunately, the price of scrap has gone up, so he can get a few dollars for some of this."

"There's been improvement, but you can't stop here. There's more you need to do," Younger told McCrow.

McCrow agreed to continue the clean up, but 30 years of accumulated "stuff" won't disappear overnight.

This visit to McCrow's property was a departure from the usual village walk, a tradition started by Mayor Jeff Kaplan shortly after he took office in March 2003.

Before each village meeting, village officials walk through an Ellenville neighborhood, talking with residents and taking notes. Residents are notified in advance, and many join the walk to discuss issues that concern both the village and its residents.

The walks are more than public relations posturing. At each stop, there's discussion of the issues, and agreements are made on any action to be taken by property owners or the village. Suggestions made during the walks are formally presented at the meeting that follows.

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