Norwich Police Chief Reuben Roach and his team walked through a building on the corner of Fair and North Broad Street last week. (Photo by Lilli Iannella)

NORWICH – The City of Norwich started performing building walkthroughs, where city officials and law enforcement go into downtown businesses and survey the buildings for code violations and loitering.

Police Chief Reuben Roach said he has received numerous complaints from downtown business owners, specifically on the north end of North Broad Street, who reported fewer customer visits due to the conditions of and around their buildings.

In order to help businesses stay operating while increasing customer safety, bring buildings up to code and keep those loitering moving along, Roach said his team of city officials meet once a week to check out the business areas.

Alongside city council members, Mayor Brian Doliver, the City of Norwich Fire Department and the Department of Code Enforcement, Roach said his team is focusing on walking through the north-end buildings, and they look for code violations like those involving electrical, fire and sanitation regulations as well as loitering and trespassing.

“It’s a multi-jurisdictional task force, and we've really taken it upon ourselves to say we've got enough complaints– let's just handle the situation,” he said. “Instead of being reactive, let's be proactive.”

According to their site,(norwichnewyork.net/government/code-enforcement.php) the Department of Code Enforcement oversees the use of buildings in Norwich and examines the health, safety and welfare of the public. Roach said his team has seen people sleeping on sidewalks, walking around and sitting in buildings downtown, some of which are even falling apart. Occurrences like these, he said, are at the root of business complaints.

Roach said owners have reported customers being too scared to go to their businesses, but an increase in foot patrol has helped control loitering occurrences in the downtown area.

“Our business district here in Norwich is probably the most valuable asset we have,” Roach said. “We need to keep businesses here; we need to keep customers happy and business owners happy. And we can't have that when we have people loitering and sleeping on the sidewalks.”

Officers patrol the downtown area daily, Roach said, and they also walk into businesses and ask owners for any suggestions on how to help them and their customers feel safer.

In addition to loitering, Roach’s team has found people urinating and defecating on and near business storefronts, he said. He also said that some people have torn holes in the walls of the buildings to sleep in the crawl space inside them.

When confronting those who are homeless or are dealing with drug-related issues, Roach said his team will direct individuals to mental health resources, addiction recovery services and other support groups like Friends of Recovery of Delaware and Otsego Counties. If someone looks like they need medical attention, he said, the team will refer individuals to the hospital.

Roach said that although his team presents these resources when clearing individuals out of the properties, it is ultimately a decision the individual has to make in choosing whether or not to utilize them.

“We aren't going in there like gangbusters– we're actually going in there saying, look, you can't be here, but here are some options,” he said. “We're trying to present the options for these folks that are dealing with the addiction issues or homelessness and give them resources to contact so that they aren't just being told to move along but rather they get some sort of help.”