A month after questions were first raised about the status of the state building code certification of Richard Normoyle, East Hampton Town’s chief building inspector, New York State has yet to respond.
The state certification is required for all building inspectors who conduct building safety inspections, but Mr. Normoyle’s name is absent from a Department of State list of certified inspectors, a fact that fueled scrutiny from some in the local building community who are frustrated with a backlog in the Building Department that is slowing their projects.
Mr. Normoyle said in mid-July that he had submitted his national certifications to the state in 2021 and that he had no reason to believe his status as a compliance enforcement officer was invalid.
According to OpenNY, Mr. Normoyle first received his certification as a New York State code enforcement officer in 1997. In 2007 he was credited with completing a New York State Code update, but he then stepped away from government for about 14 years.
When he re-entered government in 2021, working as a plans examiner for the Town of Babylon, he began taking an annual 24-hour course that he believed reactivated his old certification and kept it current.
The Star asked the Department of State when Mr. Normoyle was last certified, about the status of his past inspections, if he is allowed to conduct inspections currently.
After two weeks, at the end of July, came the following reply: “Thank you for your inquiry,” it read. “The Division is reviewing the matter and cannot comment further. Certification information provided to the Division of Building Standards and Codes is posted on OpenNY.”
A new query this week went unanswered.
The town, too, is awaiting a reply from the state.
At the end of July, the town sent Mr. Normoyle’s training records and accreditations to the New York State Department of State and has since been waiting to hear if anything further is required. In the meantime, according to Patrick Derenze, the town’s public information officer, Mr. Normoyle enrolled “in the next available code classes” and the Department of State “has since waived the basic training requirement based on those certifications.”
Mr. Derenze said the town appealed directly to the governor’s office for assistance to get a quick response, but thus far, even that contact has yet to yield any answers.
In the absence of real information from the state, those questioning Mr. Normoyle’s status are only getting louder.
“If true, this is a problem,” said one builder, who asked not to be named for fear of retribution. “I’m sure Mr. Normoyle is qualified; his resume of credentials is long and impressive; however, if he’s truly not certified, every certificate of occupancy he issued, and every building permit he signed, is now discredited.”
“We have no reason to believe Rich’s status with New York State is invalid,” Mr. Derenze texted two weeks ago. “We want to hear back from the Department of State to see if anything further is needed.” Mr. Derenze did not respond this week when asked if the town had heard back from the state with an update.
