• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Current Newspaper PDF
  • Eastwick Press Info
  • Contact Us

The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

  • School News
  • Sports Outdoors
  • Obituaries
  • Letters & Comments
  • Church Directory

WCW’s Hoosick Falls Buildings In Foreclosure

August 5, 2011 By eastwickpress 2 Comments

by Bea Peterson
According to Rensselaer County Attorney Stephen A. Pechenik, J.W. Realty, owners of the WCW properties at 1 Mechanic Street in Hoosick Falls, owe the County $1.4 million in back taxes; $320,000 of that amount is late penalties and interest. J.W. Realty has not paid any taxes on the Mechanic Street properties since WCW, owned by the Wilkinson family, moved into the buildings in 2007. Last week Attorney Pechenik said the properties are in foreclosure and he expects a summary judgement in 30 to 45 days. “By then the County will be in possession of the property. We have tried to work with them,” said Pechenik, “but they have left us with no choice.” The County did reach out to J.W. Realty, the Village of Hoosick Falls, the Hoosick Falls School District and the Town of Hoosick in an attempt to come to a compromise regarding both the assessed value and the interest and penalties that had accrued, but the attempt was unsuccessful. “When everything else failed, we had to resort to foreclosure,” Pechenik said. He added that J.W. Realty/WCW does have “a tax grievance going on.”
Once the County has title to the properties, an effort will be made to sell them to an adjacent tenant, such as Oak Mitsui, if they are interested. Oak Mitsui rents one of the Mechanic Street buildings. Otherwise they will sell the properties in a foreclosure sale.
According to Town of Hoosick Assessor Tony Rice, J.W. Realty purchased the two parcels on Mechanic Street from Isola in May 2006 in a “Sale of Distress” for $400,000. The full value on the Town Assessment Roll for the property was $10,380,078.
Rice said three meetings were set up thereafter with Town and Village officials and John Wilkinson and his attorney. Wilkinson attended only one of the three meetings and the attorney, Town and Village came to no agreement on the property value.
In May 2007 J.W. Realty/WCW filed a grievance with the Town. Rice reduced the full value for the properties to $1,740,035. Wilkinson still considered the value too high and the case continued.
Rice said later in 2007 a Judge ordered “Court Ready Appraisals” to be done by both J.W. Realty/WCW and the Town. An appraisal was completed by the Town. “WCW was granted several extensions by the Court to submit an appraisal and to this date has not,” said Rice.
In 2009 the value of the properties was increased to $2,000,000, based on the appraisal done for the Town. In 2011 the Town’s assessed full value of the property is $2,081,802.
The Village of Hoosick Falls has the properties assessed for $14,155,893 and the taxable value at $1,981,825.
County Taxpayers Lose
The way the system works, the County is obligated to make all other taxing authorities whole. Therefore, the County has paid the Hoosick Falls School District, the Town of Hoosick and the Village of Hoosick Falls for all taxes they have levied since 2007. This process has cost Rensselaer County and its taxpayers well over one million dollars.
Rensselaer County Chief Fiscal Officer Mike Slawson noted that the total amount owed by J.W. Realty, before foreclosure, was expected to grow to $1,600,000 by January 2012, with the additional School, Village and Town/County tax bills forthcoming this year.
WCW’s Future In Hoosick Falls
For several weeks rumors have been flying throughout Hoosick and Hoosick Falls that WCW is leaving town. WCW has a second worksite in Hoosick on Route 22, and this year’s taxes on that property have not been paid.
On Wednesday, August 3, John C. Wilkinson, spokesman for the company, was asked about the future of WCW in Hoosick Falls. He said, “Right now the future is unknown,” and added that he was not ready to make a statement. But, he said, next week he would be able to comment.

The WCW buildings at 1 Mechanic St. in Hoosick Falls are in foreclosure. (Bea Peterson photo)

Filed Under: Front Page, Hoosick, Hoosick Falls, Local News

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Robb Prouty says

    August 8, 2011 at 7:39 pm

    This was obviously gonna happen. Idont follow these things and just by working there, I knew this was coming. theyve been a sinking ship for about two years now.

  2. George says

    August 10, 2011 at 5:59 pm

    good press or bad their good people and looks like a road trip comming soon

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

    News Categories

    Archives

        Footer

        Local News

        Remembering Pat Casale

        Former New York State Assemblyman Pat M. Casale passed away Friday, August 5 at his home surrounded by loved ones. Among his many accomplishments were serving in the U.S. Army where he was deployed to the Korean Conflict, becoming a member of the Troy City Council, being elected as Mayor of the City of Troy, […]

        Brunswick Housing Development Creeps Forward

        by Doug La Rocque There was a resolution put forward to allow the 24 single home project to begin grading nearly half the site prior to Rensselaer County Health Department (RCDOH) septic approval, but it was tabled by the Brunswick Planning Board at their Thursday, August 4 meeting for further review. The resolution is a […]

        Hoosick Town Board Hangs Out the Help Wanted Sign

        by Doug La Rocque Hoosick Town Codes Enforcement Officer (CEO) Lloyd Moses has informed the Town Board that he will be leaving office on August 19. Mr. Moses has agreed to come in one day a week to deal with building permits until his replacement can be found. Speaking with The Eastwick Press following the […]

        School News

        Berlin CSD Capital Project Vote 

        Submitted by BCS Communications On Friday, September 2, Berlin Central School District (BCSD) residents will vote on a Capital Project with two propositions. Proposition 1 will replace the Middle/High School’s aging fuel oil tanks for two below-grade 6,565-gallon propane storage tanks, along with furnishings, machinery, equipment, apparatus, implements, and fixtures, as well as site work. […]

        New Lebanon CSD’s New Assistant Principle and Athletic Director

        Written by Corey Brown, Courtesy of NLCSD Hello New Lebanon Students and Families, My name is Corey Brown, and I am very excited to introduce myself as the new Athletic Director and Assistant Principal of New Lebanon Central School District. I am honored that I was chosen to help lead such an outstanding district and […]

        New Assistant Principal

        Submitted by BCS Communications The Berlin Central School District is pleased to welcome Mrs. Jodi Cataldo as Berlin Elementary School’s Assistant Principal. Mrs. Cataldo has spent the past eight years teaching first grade at Turnpike Elementary School in Troy, as well as teaching kindergarten, fourth grade and Middle School Response to Intervention (RTI). She completed her […]

        Copyright © Eastwick Press · All Rights Reserved · Site by Brainspiral Technologies