26 James Street 
26 James Street, 2000 (Adirondack Daily Enterprise, April 20, 2000) Address: 24 James Street
Old Address: 26 James Street
Other names:
Year built: 1920
This was the home of the Albert Dukett family from 1945 to 1969.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, April 20, 2000
Wrecking Ball for 26 James St. swings to trial
Village, Dukett head to court on May 15
By PETER CROWLEY
Enterprise Staff Writer
SARANAC LAKE - The village of Saranac Lake's demolition order against the 26 James St. house will go to trial at 2 p.m. Monday, May; 15 at the village court in the Harrietstown Town Hall.
The house, which was damaged by an alleged arson fire on Sept. 23, 1999, belongs to Edward Dukett, who is defending his property against a demolition order issued by village Code Enforcement Officer Edwin Randig. Randig said that an engineering report by North Woods Engineering of Saranac Lake, conducted on Feb. 15, recommends the building be removed.
At a village court hearing Wednesday night, Justice Thomas Glover scheduled the trial date with Randig, Dukett and Dukett's attorney, Charles NiCastro, present. Glover will preside at the trial with no jury present... Dukett has argued that he could not take action on the house during the winter months. He also said that his building is being targeted while, others, such as a vacant house at 17 Prospect Street [17 Prospect Avenue, torn down, 2009], have been dilapidated for years.
The demolition order was posted on the House and mailed to Dukett on Sept. 24, 1999, according to Randig. A Notice and Order to Comply was issued on April 12, 2000, which required initial cleanup by April 16. When this was not done, Dukett was served with a court summons on April 17.
Randig said the 26 James St. house was vacant long before the fire, and he has photos of it from May 24, 1999, four months before the fire. Randig also has photos from Sept. 24, 1999 and Feb. 15, 2000 to show that combustible materials — e.g. mattresses, furniture, clothing — have not been moved from the building.
Dukett said that he wants to either restore the house himself or sell it to a friend for restoration. He said that he has a potential buyer coming to look at the house this week.
Most of the flame damage, according to Dukett, is to the two-story back porch, the roof and the outside, of the building. There is water damage within the house, which Dukett showed the Enterprise on Tuesday, and many of the windows have been broken, by rocks thrown by vandals.
Dukett estimated that he could restore the building to a livable condition for as little as $20,000.
Randig said he could not estimate the cost of such a project, but according to him, the New York State Fire Prevention and Building, Code states that once property damage reaches 50 percent of the assessed value, the entire building, not just the damaged portion - must be brought up to code. This would mean that the windows, wiring, etc. would have to be compliant.
Dukett said that the fire was started by an arsonist in a garbage' can on the back porch. The house had been vacant for some time before that. Dukett said that the sagging front and back porches made the place unattractive to renters, but he said that the rest of the house, including the foundation, is solid.
The 26 James St. house has been in his family for decades, he said. Dukett owns other properties around the village, including the Dew Drop Inn on Broadway.
Dukett was the focus of controversy in the wake of an Oct. 31, 1995 fire in one of his properties on Depot Street. The blaze caused the accidental death of 16 year old Paul Schlitt, and Dukett came under fire because no evidence could be found of a smoke detector in the building. According to Dukett, fire investigators hired by him eventually found burned pieces of a smoke detector.
Randig said that, at present, one other Saranac Lake house is being targeted for demolition. That building — a white house above a stone wall on Front Street, near Shepard Avenue — has been empty for years, he said. A federal Housing and Urban Development grant for the Helen Hill area is currently being managed by the village Office of Community Development, and Randig said that this project calls for the house's removal.
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