Former Lincoln school, owned by NYC firm, partially collapses
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - The former Lincoln School at West and Lloyd Streets, seen here on Friday, June 23, 2023, suffered a partial collapse that day.
SHENANDOAH – After decades of neglect and disrepair, another former Shenandoah school is collapsing.
The former Lincoln School — located on the site of Shenandoah’s first school at Lloyd and West Streets — suffered a partial collapse Friday afternoon.
Onoolloo Corporation, of 1365 Lafayette Avenue, Bronx, New York, has owned the former school since 2013 and the building has been in a state of disrepair for at least a decade prior.
At some point Friday, the roof above the southeast corner of the building, near the intersection of Lloyd and West Streets, gave way. From the west, a visible hole can be seen through the roof to the other side.
Known by many as the old unemployment office, the building housed the Pennsylvania Job Service until 1991. At that time, the American Red Cross, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and the Community Betterment Association all used space in the building.
The Shenandoah Valley School District gave the building to Shenandoah Borough in 1975, and was returned to the district in 1991. The school district sold the building at auction within a year.
In 1994, David Ferraiolo and Donna Neumeister Ferraiolo, of the Ashland area, wanted to use the property for an antique auction, which was denied by Shenandoah zoners and opposed by at least 30 residents.
The building had changed hands at least twice before Onoolloo Corp. purchased the property, and no owner had viably used the property in that time while it continued to decay.
Onoolloo has been cited at least six times for the condition of the property, including twice this year.
Just last month, on May 2, representatives of the New York City-based firm pleaded guilty to a summary charge for possessing a dangerous building of collapse and were fined $1,000 along with court costs and fees.
The company has two outstanding citations filed by Shenandoah Code Enforcement, one for the same charge and another for property maintenance.
In 2019, the company pleaded guilty for failure to maintain a safe and sanitary exterior and was cited $300 and costs.
Onoolloo also contested two property maintenance citations filed in 2019 and 2020 and were found guilty on both counts. The company appealed to the Schuylkill County Court of Common Pleas, who upheld both convictions. They were cited $300 and $1,000, plus costs and fees, respectively.
Shenandoah Borough Manager Tony Sajone told the Sentinel Friday that Onoolloo has been cooperative with the borough and is exploring options to tear down the former school.
In the meantime, the sidewalk around the school has been roped off.
According to the Schuylkill County Parcel Locator, the Lincoln School is the only property Onoolloo owns in Schuylkill County.
The former school, named for ex-President Abraham Lincoln, was built around 1885 and replaced the Old Brown Schoolhouse, which was the first school built in Shenandoah around 1861. At the time, Shenandoah was a village within Mahanoy Township.
A block away, at Centre and West Streets, another neglected historic Shenandoah school building was demolished last year. The Jefferson school, at the time one of Shenandoah’s oldest buildings, was brought down last fall after sitting vacant and abandoned since its closure in the 1980s.
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