By Jacquie Rath and Karenlyn Barone
The law, drafted by Village Attorney Peter Ledwith, is in sharp contrast to previous laws, which did not allow as much action to be taken against offenders. According to Building Superintendent Mike Ryder, "The old law had no teeth."
Illegal over-occupancy has had a huge impact on the village's quality of life. It not only affects the aesthetics of the neighborhoods - with cars parking on lawns, and increased traffic and noise - it also drains services provided by tax dollars. With more people living under one roof than legally allowed, police, fire, emergency medical technicians and sanitation services are being abused by people who are not paying into the system.
When asked to comment on the severity of the problem, Ryder stressed that "the Village of Lynbrook is not going to fool around with this situation."
The building department has been very busy since the law's adoption. "There have already been 16 successful prosecutions for over-occupancy in the village, resulting in the elimination of that many illegal apartments," said Deputy Mayor Tom Miccio, who is the Village Board's liaison to the building department. "And there are 30 more cases pending."
To date, the new law and its subsequent litigation has resulted in $41,775 in additional revenue for the village, with an additional $5,000 to $10,000 in resulting plumbing, electrical and building permits, according to Brian Curran, the village prosecutor for such actions.
"There are currently seven additional cases in litigation," said Curran. "This new law has had a tremendous impact on the quality of life for our neighborhoods, insofar as reducing the unnecessary additional burden on the village services, and possibly even the school district."
The building department fields, on average, two complaints per month about illegal over-occupancy. The new law allows, once it receives a complaint, it springs into action. A housing inspector, either John Niewender or Tom McDonough, visits the site and attempts to gain entry to perform an on-site inspection. He determines whether the property is being used as it should be or is in violation of village code.
If the inspector is allowed access to the site, he documents any violations he finds. They might include separate entrances, multiple kitchens, or permanent partitions or internal doors barring access to portions of the dwelling. The violations are then sent to the prosecuting attorney, who drafts a court summons. If the property owners fail to show up in court, as indicated by the summons, a warrant is issued for their arrest.
As detailed in the law, if the inspectors are denied entry, they can operate under "presumption." This means they can infer that the property is being used by multiple families if it has multiple doorbells, utility meters, mailboxes, entrances, or cars parked there that are registered under different names. The inspectors will again document what they find and send the information to the prosecuting attorney.
Another way the dwelling may come under suspicion is if the owner advertises the property for sale or for rent, and includes details indicating that it is being used by more families that it is zoned for. That information will be sent to Curran, who will begin the court process.
In order to rebut a presumption, a property owner can request an on-site inspection through the building department. The owner pays a nonrefundable fee of $125 to defray the cost of the inspection. If property owners are found to be in violation of code, they are assessed a fine of not less than $3,500 for the first violation. Any subsequent violations bring a fine of $2,000, and each week the violation continues to exist constitute an additional violation. The fines continue to mount until the property is returned to its proper code status.
"After a case is resolved, the building department maintains the right conditionally from the court for re-entry for the next 18 months, with 48-hour notice, " said Ryder. "Conditions from the court are also to remove the violations within 45 days. That would include secondary cabinets, additional kitchens, partition walls, stoves, etc."
According to Ryder, "The new law has allowed us to take assertive action, and we have been getting very positive feedback from the community."
In fact, the law has been so effective that a second prosecuting attorney, Charles Horn, has been appointed to assist with the volume of prosecutions. "There are numerous cases still to be investigated, and we encourage the residents to call the building department and report any suspected illegal occupancies," said Miccio. "All calls would be kept confidential."
Comments about this story? Kbarone@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 202.
