Though she has lived in West Hempstead for 45 years and never had a problem with illegal housing in her area — Cathedral Gardens — Norton said that it is pervasive in all other unincorporated areas. “When my daughter lived on William Street 20 years ago, there was a smattering of it,” she recalled, “but it’s gotten much worse.”

Interestingly, it was 10 years ago — in August 2004 — that a new state law known as “Nail and Mail” was introduced, which made it possible for building inspectors to serve landlords with summonses for illegal apartments. Around that same time, the Town of Hempstead increased fines for people who rented illegal apartments. In 2004 these fines were $500 for a first offense, $1,000 for a second and $1,500 for a third. Today, according to the town, the fines range from $1,000 to $2,000 for a first offense, from $2,500 to $5,000 for a second and from $5,000 to $10,000 for a third.

“For every illegal apartment out there,” Norton said, “the owner of that building is cheating everyone in the community through additional wear and tear on our roads, crowding in our schools, police protection, sanitation, our libraries and more. They’re also cheating the federal government out of their taxes.”

She said she believes that the lack of apartments in West Hempstead is partially to blame for illegal housing, and she has suggested to Town of Hempstead officials that making two-family homes legal, provided the houses were owner-occupied, might help solve the problem. The idea, however, never came to fruition. “Why it didn’t take off? I don’t know,” she said. “It could be because the community didn’t want two-family homes.”

She added, “We’re here for the people in the community that don’t have the time or the energy to do something about our issues.” Just the same, she encourages people to get involved, read the WHCSA newsletters and come to the organization’s meetings. More information can be found at www.westhempsteadcivic.org.