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Monday, May 20, 2013
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Dulles building superintendent fired

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The superintendent of the Dulles State Office Building has been fired.

David R. Steyer, 69, Watertown, has confirmed that he was told he was let go from the $75,749-a-year job he’s held for the past five years. He said he was told March 27 by William Hill, executive director of real property for the state Office of General Services.

“It came out of the blue,” Mr. Steyer said, adding that he was not given a reason for his firing. “He told me he didn’t know why. He just said my services were no longer needed.”

But Heather R. Groll, the OGS’s public information officer, said the office had accepted Mr. Steyer’s resignation.

Mr. Steyer said he submitted a letter of resignation in 2010, during the waning years of then-Gov. David A. Paterson’s administration, a typical courtesy when a new governor is about to take over.

“If that’s what (OGS) is basing it on, that was some time ago,” Mr. Steyer said.

He also questioned why, if the office was accepting his resignation letter, it sent him a letter telling him his services were no longer required.

“If it was a resignation, it should say ‘your resignation is accepted,’” he said.

Ms. Groll confirmed that the resignation letter OGS accepted was submitted in late 2010.

Mr. Steyer’s last day on the job will be April 11.

The building superintendent oversees 30 employees and is responsible for the upkeep of the 11-story building, which houses local branches of state offices such as the Department of Transportation and the attorney general.

Mr. Steyer said he enjoyed the work, which encompasses maintenance, cleaning and engineering.

“It’s always 70 and it never rains,” he said. “Frankly, when I first went there, I had in mind that I would go there for two years and it would be a little extra income and I could pay off my mortgage and my bills, and I could help myself financially. Then, I really liked it.”

Mr. Steyer was appointed to the political position during then-Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer’s administration.

Previously, Mr. Steyer was the service mechanic for OGS for 12 years and is a former Jefferson County deputy sheriff. He said he had planned to retire in a year anyway, and plans to remain retired.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo will name a successor for the Dulles job.

Mr. Steyer and his wife, Laurie J., have been active in Democratic causes in the north country. They were named the county’s Democrats of the Year in 2005.

Times staff writer Brian Amaral contributed to this report.

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