The Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency has issued a notice of default to the developer of the Asteri Apartments following the City of Ithaca’s order to evacuate the building earlier this month.
The notice relates to the building’s Payment in Lieu of Taxes agreement, commonly known as a PILOT, which provides a property tax abatement to the project’s developer, Vecino Group. The tax abatement is estimated to be worth about $15 million over 30 years.
The action was discussed during the IDA’s March 11 meeting.
“We have sent a notice of default to Vecino on the PILOT and I want to make a short statement for the benefit of the public,” said Deb Dawson, a county legislator and IDA board member.
“I know people have asked us repeatedly to do something about Vecino. Given the language in the PILOT agreement, we couldn’t do anything about that PILOT unless and until there was a violation of some law, regulation or code by Vecino and its management of the building.”
Dawson said the city’s evacuation order provided that trigger.
“I guess the silver lining to the city’s notice to vacate is that we know now that there are violations and that prompted us to take action,” she said. “We have had to give them 30 days to remedy.”
When asked to provide the IDA’s letter to the developer, Dawson referred the request to the agency’s counsel, Russ E. Gaenzle, a partner at Harris Beach Murtha.
“It is my recommendation to the board that we do not disseminate the correspondence to Asteri to the public at this time,” Gaenzle wrote. “We have not received confirmation that they have in fact received it.”
Gaenzle said the agency had previously discussed concerns about the building but could not move forward without documented violations.
“This board did not sit idly by,” he said. “All of our deals and documents require applicants to comply with all applicable law and local ordinances. We just didn’t have the exact violations to trigger us to send that letter, which is now out.”
The City of Ithaca ordered residents to vacate the residential tower on March 4 after firefighters responding to a fire alarm found safety issues affecting the building’s stairwells.
According to a complaint inspection report from the City of Ithaca Fire Department, the inspection found multiple violations involving the building’s fire alarm system and exit infrastructure.
Fire officials reported:
- broken windows on multiple floors of both exit stairwells
- a missing fire alarm device in the west stairwell
- a damaged pull station on the 10th floor
- an exit signage issue on the 12th floor
The report states that openings in the stairwell walls impaired the pressurization system designed to keep smoke out of emergency exits, meaning the fire alarm system was considered impaired.
The report also notes that the alarm response followed an incident in which a fire had been intentionally set in a stairwell.
Radio traffic between the fire department and dispatch that evening indicated firefighters were dealing with repeated alarm pulls and reports of people setting off fireworks and throwing rocks from windows.
Maintenance staff also reported seeing a person attempting to start a fire in a stairwell.
On March 6, windows in the stairwells were observed covered with plywood. A metal ‘cooker’ used for preparing drugs for injection was visible on a window sill among feces, discarded syringes and other intravenous drug use paraphernalia.
The building does not have security cameras inside the stairwells.
The Asteri has been the site of repeated emergency calls since opening in 2024, and is the #1 location for police calls in the city.
Past reporting by Ithaca Crime documented multiple incidents at the building, including previous fires, drug investigations and search warrants executed by police.
The front door of the Asteri is typically broken, allowing anyone access to the building. This was the case the evening the evacuation was announced.
Present during the IDA meeting, Legislator Mike Sigler previously told Ithaca Crime that immediate repairs should be prioritized so residents can return to their homes.
“This building has had multiple problems for years as well documented by [Ithaca Crime],” Sigler wrote. “There have been hundreds of police and fire calls, deaths, fires.”
At least five deaths have occurred in the Asteri since it opened.
The IDA’s notice gives the developer 30 days to remedy the violations of its agreement with the IDA.
Dawson said further discussion of potential action under the PILOT agreement will occur after that period.