By Liz McBreen
The ordinance would allow building inspectors to write a summons for an illegal apartment without entering a home, basing the summons on multiple water meters, doorbells or mailboxes, and it would also include more hefty fines for those who rent illegally.
Bob Rabey, President of the West Hempstead Civic Association, attended the hearing in support of the ordinance. Concerned about the amount of the fines that landlords will face, Rabey said, "The fines must exceed the price of business. It has to discourage the violation."
Rosalie Norton, the association's vice president, agreed with Rabey, saying that if landlords aren't penalized enough, they will just consider the fines an added expense and continue renting illegally. She added that building inspectors should be given more authority in their search for illegal rentals.
Murray explained that the fines would jump considerably if the ordinance is passed. For a first offense, the fine would be increased from $350 to $500. The second time a landlord is found to be renting illegally, the penalty would be $1,000, up from $750, and the fine for a third offense will be $1,500 and/or six months in jail, instead of $1,000.
Councilman Anthony Santino added that the board "tried to find a happy medium" when deciding on the amounts of the fines. Members wanted to increase the fines sufficiently to deter landlords from renting illegally, but at the same time, they could not be so steep that the courts would be reluctant to impose them.
A resident of Merrick, another unincorporated town, addressed the board at the hearing, and asked why people are being allowed to advertise illegal apartments in local newspapers. She also suggested to the board that when a house is sold, it should be inspected and any illegal fixtures removed.
Bob Young, another resident of Merrick, described illegal housing as "a cancer in our communities." Young is pleased with the proposed ordinance, and said, "the tide is turning. This is a great day for the Town of Hempstead."
Young told the board that since the supervisor announced a strong effort to combat this problem, more people had joined the Committee Against Illegal Rentals in Merrick, because a solution now seems realistic. "The victims here are the taxpayers and the people who rent," he said. "They need a place to stay like everyone else. The real criminals are the landlords."
Vicki Rosenberg is a resident of Levittown, another town plagued by the problem of illegal housing. Families in Levittown often added onto their homes, and when the children left the house, the space was rented for extra income, according to Rosenberg.
She feels that the only way the issue of illegal housing can be resolved is to address the root of the problem, which is the lack of affordable housing on Long Island. "These renters have to be stopped from gouging tenants who have no other choice but to live in illegal apartments," said Rosenberg.
Several residents addressed the issue of the economy that revolves around illegal residences. Contractors come in to build apartments, cable companies install multiple satellite dishes, and utility companies install two or more meters on the house. Residents asked the board to hold these people accountable as well.
Marshall Meyers, a West Hempstead resident and a real estate broker, said, "I see the problem of illegal housing up close and personal in my business and in my personal life, and it is caused by greedy absentee landlords. They do not care about the community, because they do not live in it."
Scott Jablow, President of the Cathedral Gardens Civic Association, is also in favor of the ordinance. "Illegal housing is an epidemic in unincorporated areas, and it seems like an answer is finally coming," he said.
Murray assured the residents that the Town of Hempstead is dedicated to the issue of illegal housing, and that if the ordinance is passed, it would be one of the toughest on Long Island. "This is a big step in providing building inspectors with the authority they need to put an end to this problem," said Murray.
