ITHACA, NY (607NewsNow) – Problems persist at Asteri Ithaca.

After being ordered to shut down on March 4 for fire safety hazards, the order to vacate was lifted on March 20 following successful testing.

Mayor Robert Cantelmo recently toured the building after noticing that a main door near Cinemapolis was not secured, an issue that has plagued the complex since its earliest days. Cantelmo did not walk away from the visit feeling good about the direction of the building.

“I have no optimism that the property management is on the right trajectory for addressing these issues,” added Cantelmo. “I really am increasingly of the mind that the only way to address long-term property management solutions at that facility is to, through partnership, together and with the state, lean on the investor group that holds the 99.5% stake in that property, and really demand either significant improvement or, ideally, an alternative option, because, I think we would all agree, we owe it to our community, especially those members of our community that live in that building, to have a base-line quality of life that is not being delivered at this time.”

With the noted difficulties in enforcing code compliance, some lawmakers and community members have wondered why Tompkins County, City of Ithaca, or New York State doesn’t simply step in and take over.

Legislative Chair Shawn Black echoed the sentiment.

“I have received that question probably a dozen times,” said Black. “I think it’s important for our community to realize it’s not just a matter of the county or the city stepping in, putting DSS in there, putting city people in there, and running a great building. If that was a reality we probably would have done it on March 7, but it’s not.”

It was also noted that, as of May, building management was only aware of 3 active leases in the 181-unit building. So, a large number of tenants did not receive formal information.

“When an individual moves into an apartment complex, the expectations are communicated to them,” said Tompkins County Attorney Maury Josephson. “They get a lease; they need to understand what the terms and conditions of the lease are. They got complex rules and regulations; they’re expected to know what those are.”

You can watch the full report from Mayor Cantelmo at the May 19 meeting of the Tompkins County Legislature here.