And courthouses that are not adequately maintained risk becoming a danger to the public. While some welcomed that as good news yesterday, many judicial and government officials see the state intervention as embarrassing new evidence of eroding conditions in a county mired in a prolonged financial crisis. Conditions in court buildings have come under criticism since the 1980s. Last October, Nassau Chief Administrative Judge Edward McCabe ordered state Family Court employees out of the records room after workers complained of bug bites and mysterious rashes. In a report released yesterday, inspectors detailed an extensive list of problems in the courts where about 1,200 judges and court personnel work and thousands of lawyers, litigants and witnesses come every week for trials.
Fire extinguisher needs charge.
In some offices, falling ceiling tiles have narrowly missed employees or visitors. Torn carpets and broken tiles make walking dangerous. Perhaps the most chronic and widespread disrepair is found in bathrooms, where the inspectors reported problems ranging from empty soap dispensers and dripping faucets to broken toilets and foul odors. This is a general shame for everyone who looks at it, Supreme Court Justice Ira Raab said yesterday. William Tripp, Gulotta's deputy commissioner of recreation, parks and support services, yesterday blamed the county's low-bid cleaning contractor.