It was music to the ears of a community inundated with rental properties and absentee landlords: the Town of Brookhaven is raising fines for housing code violations.
Councilwoman Karen Dunne-Kesnig broke the news at a meeting of the Pattersquash Civic Association, which has been focusing on the problem for months. Under code changes that will be the subject of a November 19 public hearing, fines will increase for lack of rental permits, substandard accessory apartments, parking on lawns, and other infractions residents say are dragging down their property values.
“Improving the quality of life in this community was an important goal when l ran for the town board,” said Dunne-Kesnig, who took over the 6th District seat in January. “The only way we can make a difference is by costing them money,” she said of the absentee landlords that own hundreds of units in the Mastic-Shirley area.
According to the Councilwoman, the town plans to increase code violation fines to $2,500 for first offenses and escalate to $15,000 if the issues aren’t addressed. Landlords are required to obtain town rental permits, which cost $250 for a single-family unit and $500 for two-family units. Accessory apartment permits are also $250. The process involves an inspection, which can expose other violations, but property owners can also have a third party certify that the rentals are in compliance.
“We can’t have these eyesores keep dragging down our quality of life,” Pattersquash President Frank Fugarino said of the multitude of rental properties that the densely populated community has been struggling with for years. The problem dates back to the 1920s when the Brooklyn Eagle offered lots as small as 20 by 100 feet for those buying newspaper subscriptions. With many units per acre, the homes were inexpensive, allowing landlords to snatch them up. One company in particular has raised the community's ire with 200 rentals in the area and another 200 townwide.
“As a landlord, you can’t possibly keep an eye on hundreds of rental units, especially if they are used as boarding houses and sober homes,” Fugarino said. “We want to create a close working relationship with our councilmember to solve these problems once and for all.”
One resident reflected what many in the audience were thinking: “These are slumlords, and they don’t have the right to blockbust our community by dragging down the values of our homes. We’ve had enough of it.”
Going after the landlords through the legal process is challenging and time-consuming as the larger property owners game the system, Dunne-Kesnig noted. The town has hired former Highway Superintendent John Rouse, who was also a county court judge, to assist with its legal battles. In the last few weeks, he’s netted $1,700 in fines from one landlord alone in a crackdown that is expected to have an even greater impact when the new penalty schedule takes effect.
The civic is also working closely with the Suffolk Police and Legislator Jim Mazzarella to crack down on loitering and vagrancy. “We have 13 sober houses that we know of with at least a dozen residents each. That’s a lot of people in one community with no jobs and nothing to do all day but hang out,” President Fugarino said, pointing out that public urination, intoxication, and prostitution have been frequent complaints.