Sterling, N.Y. -- Disgraced Oswego landlord Doug Waterbury will be in Sterling town court later today because he refused to get necessary safety inspections and permits for the Renaissance Festival this summer.
Town Code Enforcement Officer Bob Day said he told Waterbury he needed to get mass gathering permits for each weekend and a fire inspection for the festival. The Renaissance Festival brings thousands to the Sterling festival grounds for seven weekends each summer.
Waterbury’s response, Day said, was that he’s never had either before and he won’t be getting them now.
“He said, ‘I’m grandfathered in,’” Day recalled Waterbury saying. Day, who was not the town code enforcement officer prior to this year, said he told Waterbury this was not the case. He’d need to get the permit for each weekend and a fire safety inspection. Waterbury refused, he said.
When contacted about the matter by a Syracuse.com reporter, Waterbury laughed and said it was a routine matter, then hung up.
Waterbury is the longtime Oswego landlord who settled two sexual harassment lawsuits against him this summer for $850,000. One suit was from the federal government and the other was from CNY Fair Housing and his victims. Both suits lay out of decades’ worth of stories from women, mostly low-income tenants or potential tenants, whom Waterbury harassed. He told them they’d be homeless unless they had sex with him.
The settlement is one of the largest ever obtained by the U.S. Department of Justice against a landlord for sexual harassment. Under the settlement, Waterbury is also prohibited from dealing directly with tenants at the dozens of properties he and his wife own in Oswego.
But the settlement does not impact his business at the Renaissance Festival or Santa’s Workshop.
The issue at the Renaissance Festival is one of public safety, said Day, the code enforcement officer.
The mass gathering permits that Waterbury refused to get ensure that he has plans in place to control the traffic; to get emergency vehicles in and out; that the water is safe; that the food is prepared safely; that there are enough restrooms, among other things. They cost $500 for each weekend.
The fire inspection is also about keeping people safe, Day said. The festival grounds have more than 20 buildings. Many are clustered together.
“So if one goes, they’re all going up" in flames, Day said.
He said he issued Waterbury appearance tickets all summer in an attempt to get him to comply, but Waterbury still refused the inspections and permits. The inspector could have shut down the festival, he said, but he was reluctant to do so because of all the vendors who depend on it for their livelihood.
But if Waterbury doesn’t comply, Day said he will not allow the festival to open next year. It’s not about Waterbury, he said, but about safety.
“I treat everybody the same,” Day said.
Marnie Eisenstadt is a reporter who writes about people and public affairs in Central New York. Have an idea or question? Contact her anytime: email | twitter| Facebook | 315-470-2246
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