By Marley Seaman
At a press conference at Malverne Village Hall on Nov. 15, Levinson and Mayor Anthony Panzarella announced plans for new penalties for illegal housing, including much larger fines and higher taxes for "egregious" violators. Malverne will also form a task force that will work with Levinson's office to investigate the worst offenders of the building code.
"I will not allow, under my watch, the demise of our village and the way of life that people moved here to enjoy," Panzarella said. He called illegal housing a safety problem and a drain on village resources.
The changes to Malverne's housing code were proposed at the village board meeting on Nov. 16, and trustees plan to vote on the law on Dec. 21. In addition to the increased fines and penalties, the trustees are considering a law that would change the standard of evidence used in illegal housing cases.
The worst violators could see their homes reclassified as businesses, Levinson said, which could cause their property taxes to double, triple or even quadruple. Under the new law, the fines for an illegal apartment could be as high as twice the annual rent - so a landlord who charged $1,000 per month for an illegal apartment could be fined as much as $24,000. The maximum fine for a first-time housing violation is currently $3,500, and $2,000 for a second offense.
If the board approves the use of so-called presumptive evidence in those cases, it will be easier for the village to fine homeowners suspected of having illegal apartments. Evidence that could be used against such homeowners includes multiple doorbells or electric meters; cars registered to people with different last names parked at a home; or large amounts of garbage. The village would not be required to prove that there is an illegal residence. Instead, those accused of having illegal apartments would be required to prove that is not the case.
Deputy Mayor James Callahan voiced strong support for the idea, but said that one part of the law needed to be rewritten. In the current version, only one piece of evidence would be required for the village to presume housing laws were being broken. Village Attorney James Frankie agreed with Callahan's interpretation of the law. That section will likely be rewritten so that several pieces of presumptive evidence are required.
"I'm in favor of fining these people as much as possible," said Callahan.
Trustee Joseph Hennessy told the Herald that Malverne is already doing a good job of dealing with illegal housing, noting that on Nov. 14, six people were fined a total of $3,000 for various housing violations. Hennessy said he would have to see the final version of the law before deciding whether he would vote for it.
How big a problem?
Panzarella said that at the moment, there are 39 cases being prosecuted against Malverne housing law violators. He estimated that there might be two or three times that many illegal apartments or boarding houses in the village, which has about 3,300 homes.
While the mayor conceded that many of those cases would not draw the interest of Levinson's office, he called the total a marked increase from the handful of cases the village dealt with when he was first elected in 1998, and said it was important that Malverne deal with the issue now.
"We don't want to lose control," he said. "If you don't grab a hold of it when it's small, it's going to grab a hold like a cancer."
Illegal apartments also increase residents' tax burden, Panzarella said, because apartment dwellers do not pay property or school taxes. In 2004-05, the most recent year for which data is available, a BOCES survey found that the Malverne School District spends $20,505 per student per year.
Panzarella also suggested that the village would help find legal apartments for people who were forced to move out of illegal dwellings. he said that in many cases, people in illegal apartments are the victims of unscrupulous landlords or brokers.
Calling illegal housing a safety issue, Levinson invoked the memory of Lt. Curtis Meyran, a firefighter and a Malverne native who died in the Bronx, along with another FDNY member, on Jan. 24, 2005. Levinson said that the two died because rooms had been added to the apartment illegally by the landlord. "Not only will we see the destruction of neighborhoods, we will see the loss of life," he said.
Levinson also said that other towns and villages should work with his office to fight illegal housing. "The only ray of sunshine in this whole county is the mayor of Malverne," Levinson said.
Comments about this story? MSeaman@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 205.
