By: Brian Zanzonico
Landmark legislation was passed in August to thwart the proliferation of illegal housing in New York state. The Town of Hempstead has since implemented its own deterrent, increasing the fines for owning illegal dwellings tenfold. But local civic organizations are the key to exposing these offenders, officials said.
Legislation known as "Nail and Mail" co-authored by state Senator Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) and Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Beach) allows building departments to more easily serve summonses to landlords of suspected illegal apartments. Under provisions of the law, after three unsuccessful attempts to personally serve a summons to the owner, building inspectors may post it on the door of an allegedly illegal dwelling and serve a duplicate summons via certified mail.
In addition, the town has taken measures to hit landlords in the wallet. The fines for owning illegal housing now range from $500 to $1,500 for a first offense, $1,500 to $5,000 for a second offense and $2,500 to $10,000 for a third offense. Under the town's old system, the maximum fine for a first offense was $500, $1,000 for a second offense and $1,500 for a third offense.
According to government officials, one of the greatest tools building departments have to crack down on illegal apartments is complaints by civic groups.
"The Cathedral Gardens Civic Association referred complaints of an illegal cellar to the town's building department. In 2002 and 2003, the town served three letters of violation and three notices of violation seeking access to the home. The owners failed to respond to these violations," Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray said, noting that under the "Nail and Mail" legislation, absentee landlords can be easily reached. The owner of that home, at 26 Maplewood St. in West Hempstead, was the first to be served via "Nail and Mail." He is due in First District Court in Hempstead on Feb. 1.
"This is a complaint-driven process," Cathedral Gardens Civic Association President Scott Jablow said about the town's investigations into illegal apartments. "And [the town building department is] good. Every complaint I've ever made has been looked into."
The Cathedral Gardens Civic Association, the West Hempstead Civic Association (WHCA), the Community Alliance and the West Hempstead Chamber of Commerce have worked to help the town locate potentially illegal apartments.
When one-family houses with two utility meters and two-family houses with three utility meters began popping up in West Hempstead, Elmont and Franklin Square several years ago, civic groups took action. Jablow began scouring the real estate classifieds in newspapers and noticed clues in the ads that indicated they were illegal. He posed as a prospective tenant at open houses, and what he discovered was shocking.
"This was not like a little old lady renting a second floor apartment. These are basement apartments, which are dangerous and illegal," he said. "In one house on Ivy Street, the door separating the basement from the first floor was boarded up. In another, sheets were used as walls to divide 'rooms.' How would firemen get to them in a fire? The windows in a basement are too small to climb through."
Jablow also said the average of $7,500 that West Hempstead residents pay in property taxes per year would be significantly less if illegal housing were eradicated.
"You own a $500,000 house. Surrounding you are houses valued the same. The difference is, one of those has illegal apartments," Jablow said. "The owner of the illegal apartments sells his house for $700,000. But it's on the tax assessor's roll as a single- family house. Now all three houses are taxed based on a worth of $700,000."
Jablow said he hopes the Skelos/Weisenberg legislation will discourage landlords from breaking the law. "It got done because we pushed the politicians to do something," he said. "Skelos did it. It's the biggest and best legislation written in years on Long Island. It puts the community on a even playing field with the violators of the community. Now the town needs to continue enforcement and use these tools."
Skelos said the legislation will remind residents why they moved to Long Island in the first place. "The legislation is simple. In the past," he said, "we had to personally serve landlords. Now the town can fix a summons to the door. People come here for a suburban way of life, not an urban way of life."
While Jablow praised the state legislation, he said the town should more severely punish owners of illegal housing.
"The fines are still not enough," he said. "We need a community court, where once or twice a month, the judges hear quality-of- life cases exclusively. When the fines were lower, a guy would be given a summons and go to court for a $25 fine. But he's making $15,000 to $20,000 in rent. The fines were the cost of doing business, like a tax. Now, [the town] needs to enforce it like villages do. Make it more than a fine. Illegal apartments should, at least, have to be returned to their original condition."
In addition to the fine increases, the town has added more building department personnel and established night shifts, and now sends undercover building department workers to open houses for suspected illegal apartments.
