His daughter's clients are her clients, he insisted. While he could practice law in Peekskill City Court, Frank Catalina said he no longer does, to avoid an appearance of impropriety.
He maintained that their shared website,, is old, out of date and cannot be taken down, though when The Journal News called last week, the numbers listed on it were still active and went to the same receptionist, who answered for “Catalina Law.” State records list the two Catalinas as working out of the same Brown Street address, where their names are displayed prominently in the windows.
While the partnership they once had was dissolved when he became mayor, he said, he did let her take some of his clients - Akrongold included. Gerdes ultimately settled the landlord-tenant dispute, winning several repairs to his apartment but agreeing to leave once his lease is up later this year.Īndrea Catalina is also representing Chateau Rive in eviction proceedings against another tenant, who has lived in the building since August 2013.īut according to the Catalinas, these cases are much ado about nothing.įrank Catalina said he fills in for his daughter like he would for any other lawyer.
"He has to keep the historical aspect of the building." “It’s a historical building, he can’t just rip everything down and put up a modern building," she added. “He pumps a lot of money into the building. He’s not one of these landlords that could care less and let the building sort of deteriorate without any concern,” she said. (Akrongold) really takes a lot of pride in it. A large storage room containing tools, building material and cleaning supplies was also unlocked. 15, The Journal News was able, along with a tenant, to get into the building via a side door that would not close, an issue Chateau Rive had been told to fix in the city's April letter. “The nature of politics in Peekskill is on par with what I’ve seen in the developing world.” Military Academy who has studied extremism in Southeast Asia. “As somebody that holds a doctorate in public and international affairs, I’ve never seen a city so badly governed by its executive,” said Gerdes, a fellow at the U.S. Andrea Catalina represented Chateau Rive for the trial. He began withholding rent and was eventually taken to landlord-tenant court in June, where Frank Catalina represented the landlord at the first appearance to get an adjournment. Later, he raised concerns that the school's former gymnasium was filled with trash and posed a fire risk. Weeks after moving into Chateau Rive last fall, Gerdes began having issues with heat, then his windows.
Chateau rive peekskill code#
Three separate letters from city Code Enforcement Officer James Howard dated March 11, 2014, April 10, 2015, and May 26, 2015, raised code violations ranging from boiler problems to peeling paint to fire doors that did not close to a lack of exit signs around the building. In their opinion, their interactions with the Akrongolds present no issues. The mayor enthusiastically welcomed their plans during his State of the City address in April.įrank and Andrea Catalina maintain that she runs an independent legal practice, although the two share an active website and office. The Catalinas' association with Chateau Rive's developers and brothers Bruce and Barry Akrongold comes at a time when the Akrongolds want to move forward with a $20 million to $30 million redevelopment and expansion project at Chateau Rive. PEEKSKILL A luxury apartment a shade under $1,400 a month on a bucolic site sandwiched between the Hudson River and Fort Hill Park sounds nice.īut dispute the "luxury" description and you might find yourself in court facing off against your landlord's representative, who happens to be Mayor Frank Catalina’s daughter, or even the mayor himself.