(File photo)
Saugerties Police are investigating the death of a 58-year-old man who was discovered in the basement of the Dragon Inn, the 19th-century mansion also known as Clovelea.
Chief Joseph Sinagra said police went to the Dragon Inn after receiving a call from a friend of the man who reported that he had not seen him in a couple of days. The man, whose name was not released pending notification of his family had been squatting in the Dragon Inn and was know to the police, Sinagra said.
When police went into the basement of the building they found the man’s body. Sinagra said there was no sign of foul play and there was no drug paraphernalia found.
Saugerties police called in the state police Forensics Unit to assist in the investigation and the Ulster County Medical Examiner took possession of the body for an autopsy.
The property, which was purchased last year by Brooklyn-based developer Jason Moskowitz, has been abandoned since a fire closed the restaurant in early 1990s.
Moskowitz has previously complained of individuals breaking into the building and using it for shelter.
if you actually did something with the structure to make it beautiful again then people wouldn’t be breaking into it for shelter,death,rape and drug use… just saying you can’t blame the homeless blame the person neglecting their property… what do you expect?
Maybe if Jason “finishes” the restoration it can be used as a restaurant and inn again.
BTW, he should care more about the man that died instead of blaming a ,probably homeless individual, person for trying to find shelter.
This has been an ongoing battle for a long time. A few times the owner has tried to do something with it. However, The Historical Society keeps fighting with him because they want the building to remain the way it is. They classify it as historical.
Yeah.. a historical piece of crap.
Well, i would suggest you get your facts right before you blame the Saugerties Historical Society.
We have NOTHING to do with historic designation. It is the Village of Saugerties Historic Review
Board or the Town of Saugerties Historic Commission that deals with designation. I am tired of
having the Society get blamed every time there is an issue with a building. None of our board
members even serve on these committees. We are a museum and do not get involved with the
political nature of designation,
Marjorie Block, President Saugerties Historical Society
yeah,it seems from previous articles that the owner wants to do work at the site but has been stuck in red tape – bad for business, bad for Saugerties…
Perfect example of government getting in the way of small business. As far as the homeless how is that unless they don’t want help? And addicts get all kind of help as well. So everyone blaming the property owner is insane and why didn’t the friend report him and have him ARRESTED and maybe he would still be alive
I would like to know more about this “help” that is available.
I think it’s really sad. A human being living in a building with no heat, hot water, no electric. When are we going to start taking care of our own people instead of other countries people. So, tired of hearing the commercials and how much our celebrities send to them and do for them. We need to try and lend a hand everyone of us. My mother always said, don’t look down on anyone, unless you are giving them your hand to help them up. I try to do this as often as I can. As for that building, its just an eye sore, makes that part of saugerties look like crap.
This building is one of Saugerties greatest assets in relation to its glorious history and should be preserved for generations of residents and visitors. This is Saugertie’s Wilderstein.
We should do everything possible to preserve it and restore it. The new owner has fantastic plans to do just that but needs the cooperation of the local populace as well as organizations and officials to realize his vision. In the meantime I agree that the building should be secured so people do not have access.
Cause of death should be determined – before ANY
judgments and blame thrown about. Dude
coulda died anywhere, anyway. Town, Village,
Owner….. Cannot be held responsible! At this
point, we can (only) presume the man
broke into private property of his own free will.
If the building isn’t going to be restored, maybe the owner would consider turning into a shelter for the homeless, and the County or NYS Dept of Social Services can help him/her put it to good use. The building can still be “historical” but it can serve a much better purpose than it is now. It’s tragic that any human being must sleep outdoors, in an empty structure, under a bridge, etc. without heat, during the cold NE Winter months. Blaming the owner of the building for this poor death is pointless, this is a social economic issue effecting communities all around us. It is possible for something good to come out of this tragic event.
You would think that the historical society would want this beautiful building restored back to its original form and not a fallen down piece of junk which makes the town look runned down. Poor man I hope he rests in peace…
The person who owns it should renovate it and make it a shelter for the homeless…that way no one breaks in they are welcomed in…..
The building is in it’s condition due to the inaction of local government. The only solution is demolition which is always Saugerties’ solution to it’s dwindling historic inventory.