Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico issued the following statement following an audit released by Suffolk County Comptroller John Kennedy, that calls into question almost $7 million in taxpayer dollars that were supposed to be spent directly on the homeless:
“Taxpayer monies to help the homeless should actually help the homeless, not serve to fatten the pockets of those who grift in the big business of poverty.
Suffolk County Comptroller John Kennedy Jr.’s audit should come as no surprise to those who have followed some of the more sordid tales uncovered in recent years, or those who live in neighborhoods where people are packed in like sardines where the landlord is paid by Suffolk County DSS.
There is no doubt that we have a homelessness problem in Suffolk.
However, the government must ensure that those who receive taxpayer dollars follow the rules. So kudos to Comptroller Kennedy, Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine and members of the Legislature for shining a light on this issue.
A prudent next step would be for the County to require any landlord who receives taxpayer-funded monies to comply with local town or village housing and zoning codes.
Right now, the Department of Social Services avails themselves of New York State’s Temporary Housing Codes, which allow them to bypass local housing codes.
By taking that step it would allow a town like Brookhaven to ensure that people aren’t packed into unsafe and/or non-code-compliant housing and also that the properties are maintained to the standards in our neighborhood preservation code.”
Hon. Dan Panico, Town of Brookhaven Supervisor