A father's devotion, a bitter dispute

An Elmira Heights man says the village is harassing him to clean up his property.

ELMIRA HEIGHTS -- Bob Sindelar of Elmira Heights likes to leave his back door open so neighborhood cats can come in for a snack.

MARIA STRINNI/Star-Gazette Bob Sindelar of Elmira Heights is locked in a battle with the village over the condition of his property. He disputes charges that it is unsafe or unsightly and says all his time is used in the care of his semicomatose daughter, Carla.

Friends and neighbors who stop by are greeted with the same open-door policy, and people who know him rave about how friendly and helpful he is.

Now Sindelar himself feels like an unwelcome guest, and he said the village of Elmira Heights is to blame.

Sindelar has owned and operated several small businesses over the years, but these days, his full-time job is caring for his 27-year-old daughter, Carla, who is semicomatose after suffering massive injuries in a 1990 auto accident.

Sindelar, uncle of professional golfer Joey Sindelar, concedes that the property he has lived on for more than 30 years at East 14th Street and Grand Central Avenue is far from immaculate, but he said the village's insistence that he clean things up amounts to harassment.

"It's all but put me in my grave," said Sindelar, 61, who is divorced and has custody of his daughter. "There's no reason for any of it. The neighbors say they don't see a problem here. Now they (the village) tell me everything has to go off my property."

Sindelar said he feels the village has pushed him to the breaking point. Elmira Heights officials, meanwhile, claim they are just responding to neighborhood complaints and have tried repeatedly to resolve the dispute without legal action.

"The village has tried very hard not to bother this guy because we understand the situation he's in," said village attorney Patrick Reidy. "We've gone above and beyond trying to help him. We were just trying to get him to clean it up. We finally got enough calls that we had to issue charges."

Sindelar's case came to a head this summer when he was fined $100 in Elmira Heights Village Court for violating village ordinances.

Citations issued by village Code Enforcement Officer Ken Ripley cited Sindelar for outdoor storage of old television sets, cinder blocks, steel, a refrigerator and appliances, sinks and various other items.

The complaints also allege that Sindelar has not responded in any tangible way, a charge he maintains is false.

"They say I added to the property. I took away from the property," Sindelar said. "Every year, somebody comes and takes stuff out. Every year, I haul away stuff. Nobody goes back in here. It's not a safety issue."

Sindelar moves slowly and unsteadily these days, making it up his own front steps only with difficulty. His breathing is punctuated by frequent violent coughing fits, and his voice is raspy. He complains of declining health.

Sindelar said he can't afford to have all the items on his property hauled away and isn't physically able to do it himself anymore. He said caring for his daughter almost around the clock and dealing with the village have drained him physically, emotionally and financially.

Carla Sindelar is tended to by a nurse for four hours each day. The rest of the time, her father cares for her.

Several nurses who have helped care for Carla over the years agree that her father's health is failing and that it is a wonder she has made progress under his care.

"Carla's father has taken excellent care of her, despite what amounts to harassment from various official agencies, which I have noticed when I asked him why he was getting so exhausted," registered nurse Brenda Coe said in a testimonial letter she wrote for Sindelar.

"Her physical condition is nothing short of miraculous, due entirely to the love and devotion of her father."

Several other nurses have written letters with similar themes.

Sindelar was not singled out for prosecution, Ripley said.

"It was based upon a complaint. We don't pick people out selectively," he said.

Rather than persecuting Sindelar, just the opposite is true, Reidy said.

"We did have a trial, and he was found guilty of being in violation," Reidy said. "Even at that point, we didn't want to incarcerate the guy. I didn't even care about the fines. I just wanted it cleaned up."

Reidy conceded that he has seen some improvement in Sindelar's property, but he said it's still a safety hazard.

"I know we like to think of our property as private, but people walk through yards," he said. "That place is an accident waiting to happen. I think we've been more lenient with him than any other person we've dealt with."

That's news to Sindelar and some sympathetic neighbors.

"The only thing we were concerned about were the TVs that were busted, but I didn't turn him in," said Joseph West, who lives next to Sindelar on Grand Central Avenue. "I went over and helped him clean it up a bit. You drive by all kinds of properties that are worse."

Martha Popovich of 14th Street said she doesn't have any problems with her next-door neighbor.

"I think the condition he's in, it's unreasonable to ask him to do that," Popovich said. "He can hardly walk and he's trying to take care of Carla. You don't know which one is going to go first."

Enforcing the building codes is never pleasant, Reidy said.

"This is a part of the job that is certainly not fun, but it's something you have to do," he said. "We have tickets out all over town for junk cars, refuse, dogs. Most of the time, they get a letter from Ripley and take care of it."

Sindelar said his sole income derives from rent he charges his tenant, The Flower Cart. There is also a trust fund for Carla's care, and Sindelar claims he has been fighting with lawyers for years over that money.

Sindelar has not yet paid his fine and said he is trying to appeal the conviction. In the meantime, as his own health worsens, he worries about the future -- not so much for himself, but for Carla.

"I don't bother anybody," he said. "The neighbors don't complain. A $100 fine is not a big fine, but now I'm a criminal. ... That's money they're taking away from my daughter. I save everything for my daughter, and then to have someone go and do this."