Judicial Complaint re: 110 Partition St.

NYS Commission on Judicial Conduct

March 20th, 2022

I leased a commercial space at 110 Partition St. in Saugerties. I did not sign a lease - I did not want one. The space was in rough shape and I knew that it wasn't ultimately where I wanted to be. I was there for a year. I vacated the space on March 1st of 2020, prior to vacating I gave 30 days written notice that I planned on doing so.When I had moved everything out my landlord gave me a post-dated check for my security deposit; when I went to cash the check at his bank, I was told they were unable to do so. I reached out to my landlord about it and he said he didn't have the money. So, we already have one law broken via commingling. 

I asked my landlord many, many times over the next 6 months if he had my security deposit. I was told no. This created a snowball of financial hardship for me; I had planned on using that money for the space I moved my store into. Because I did not get it back I had to use money that I had earmarked for credit card/utility bills to pay for the security deposit in the new space. 

I finally went to court and filed a civil suit against him. A few days before the court case his wife ambushed me at my store and said if I wanted to meet her in front of the town hall at 2 pm, she would give me a money order. I said ok. A little bit later I got a text saying it would be the next day at 4 pm, at which point I said absolutely not, I would see them - my landlord and his wife -  in court. 

When I arrived at court on my court date, I watched my landlord talk to everyone, shake hands, etc. while his wife stared at me the entire time. It was incredibly uncomfortable.

When my case was called, the judge literally would not let me speak. He in fact said to me, "you will not speak". The judge was aware that my landlord wrote me a bad check. He was aware that my landlord commingled my money with his. He did not care. He did not allow me the opportunity to explain the hardship that it had caused. He looked at me and spoke to me as though I was the one who had done something wrong. He told me I was not entitled to anything above my security deposit. (I wanted the filing fee as well as any interest that may have accrued should that security deposit have gone in an escrow account where it was legally required to be.) So I left court with a money order in the amount of my security deposit; I was grateful to have finally gotten at least that.  

I left court feeling like I had done something wrong. I was embarrassed and ashamed of myself. I sat in my car and cried. I thought to myself, "What just happened in there?" I felt like I was in a movie. 

After a few days had passed and I wasn't so emotional, I had done some research and called the court asking for a transcript of my hearing. I was told I would have to call people on a list that they have and then pay per word. At that point, I was too exhausted and did not want to spend another penny on the situation. I have chronic health issues, and I just haven't had the fight in me - this is why it's taken me so long to file a complaint. To be honest, I am also fearful of retaliation from people in town once I submit this. 

The way the judge treated me, the laws he failed to uphold in his own court - none of it is right and none of it is ok. Everyone is in each other's pockets in the town and county that I not only have my business in, but live in; it is so unbelievably corrupt. This is just one of many, many things that have happened to me since opening my business and moving to the village of Saugerties. I have never experienced anything like it. The stress has made me very sick.

My goal is to expose it. All of it. Again, I do fear retaliation. But I'm tired of feeling unheard, and I'm tired of seeing people like this judge get away with treating people the way he treated me.