GOSHEN, N.Y. -- After a more than four year battle, an appellate court judge ruled on Wednesday that Valley View nursing home could not be transferred out of county-run hands.
"Such a relief. These people can breathe again. They were so worried about it," said Candy Gabel.
Gabel has worked at county-owned Valley View for seven years. Wednesday's decision means she and hundreds of other county workers will keep their jobs. But more importantly, she said, is what it means for the patients.
"They could have been sent far away from their families and their homes. And now, it's good," said Gabel.
A judge ruled that the county never had the right to transfer the home to an LDC tasked with selling it, because the legislature lacked the supermajority vote needed to make the transfer legal.
"There are laws and rules on how to do things," said County Legislator Mike Anagnostakis.
Anagnostakis has been a longstanding voice opposing the sale of the center. He said the county was abusing its power, and calls Wednesday's decision a victory over corruption.
"You can't make believe that you're going to do your own rules and they're going to fly. They got challenged in court, they got struck down in an Orange County Court, they got struck down four to nothing unanimous in an appeals court. The law has prevailed," he said.
The county had argued it didn’t need the 14-vote supermajority, and that the April 2014 12-9 vote was sufficient. They claimed that the 360-bed center was a burden to tax payers, and the attempt to privatize it would have alleviated debt, with no harm to patient care.
"When I came into office Valley View was costing more than $10 million a year to operate. We've brought that down to single digits, it's still costing tax payer money we're going to continue to look for saving," said County Executive Steve Neuhaus.
The county executive said he has no intention of challenging this latest decision. To the seniors that depend on Valley View nursing home, Neuhaus said it will remain open for them for as long as he is in power.