Rockland County’s Office of Building and Codes issued its first civil penalty in the Village of Spring Valley this week - and it comes with a hefty fine to pay. 

The owner of 3 George St. was fined $39,250 for violating New York State Uniform Building Codes.

Since Rockland County's Office of Building Codes took over fire and safety enforcement back in February, it has issued over 1,000 violations. The violations at 3 George St. were most egregious, according to the office.

“There were, I believe, over 16 people living throughout the house, living in the basement, living in mattresses, living in hallways, with exposed wiring, modifications, no escape route, no egress in an emergency situation. Horrendous living conditions for anyone to live in," says Ed Markunas, director of the Office of Building and Codes.

That office still has a lot of work to do. They tell News 12 they inherited a backlog of about 1,000 outstanding inspections they still need to go through.