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Councilman wants Brookhaven town to mow
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| | | This partially boarded up house on Old Town Road is typical of foreclosed homes across Brookhaven where the town would mow and charge the owner. Photo by Lee Lutz (click for larger version) | |
September 16, 2009 | 02:44 PM
It's not hard to spot foreclosed or abandoned houses on Long Island — or throughout the country — as the United States fights to overcome the worst economy in 75 years. The sad-looking former home is almost always unkempt, often boarded up, and usually includes grass and weeds a foot high or more. Councilman Steve Fiore-Rosenfeld (D-East Setauket) will try again to remedy a part of that situation that not only annoys neighbors but can depress nearby home values.
At tonight's Town Board meeting Fiore-Rosenfeld will sponsor a resolution to set a public hearing on his plan to permit Brookhaven Town personnel to enter onto such properties, trim the grass and back charge the owner, often a bank holding the foreclosed mortgage.
"This is for vacant or foreclosed homes only," the councilman stressed to his colleagues at last Thursday's Town Board work session. When Fiore-Rosenfeld first introduced his proposal early this year he received some resistance from property rights and privacy advocates who suggested the town was taking the role of Big Brother in maintaining unmowed lawns. The resolution specifically limits the town's access to property "upon which an unoccupied building … or vacant building is situated or a foreclosed building…" The law would require the town to notify the owner of the land of the situation and provide not less than 10 days to remedy the unsightly condition before the town could do so and attach a lien to the property equaling the town's expenses.
Fiore-Rosenfeld not only has the support of Supervisor Mark Lesko, but the fellow council member suggested going further. "Can we add an administration fee besides?" Lesko asked the town's law department at the council's work session last week. The supervisor said Babylon Town has a similar ordinance that not only charges the landowner for the cost of the work but adds a $500 fee on top of it. The additional fee may serve as an incentive for absentee landowners to maintain their vacant property so that the town would not need to exercise its authority to do it for them. An assistant town attorney warned that if such a fee be imposed it should be labeled something other than an "administration fee," which could bump up against state law. However the attorney did not rule out adding the additional fee into the proposed law under a different label.
Councilwoman Jane Bonner (C-Rocky Point) is also supportive. "Kudos to Councilman Fiore-Rosenfeld," Bonner said. Saying her office gets "lots of calls" complaining of abandoned houses, she said, "At the end of the day it's about the quality of life" for nearby homeowners.
Councilwoman Kathy Walsh (R-Centereach) had not returned a call for comment by press time.
If approved tonight by the Town Board a public hearing on Fiore-Rosenfeld's proposal will be held on Oct. 13.
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