Unheated Home With Serious Fire Threats Condemned

DECEMBER 14, 2006, FARMINGVILLE, NY- The Town of Brookhaven today shut down an unsafe rental home in Ronkonkoma that posed an imminent threat to the lives of its residents. The house had no heat, and numerous electrical and fire hazard violations that threatened the lives of the residents of the house, including an infant.

Town officials have been working with the residents of the house and social service agencies to provide alternative housing for the residents. Town officials have worked proactively with the Suffolk County Department of Social Services, housing advocates and charities to find housing for the residents. A family with an infant was among the residents in the house, and town officials had representatives from Child Protective Services at the home to relocate that family to safe housing.

The absentee landlord of the home, a repeat offender, was informed of the serious and dangerous violations and did nothing to correct the problems, forcing the town to act to prevent a potential tragedy. After repeated requests by the town, a work crew finally showed at the house Thursday, but was unable to make repairs that would have made the house habitable. The heat still did not work, and a pipe in the home actually burst while the inspectors were in the house.

“Someone could die in this home and that will not happen on my watch,” said Supervisor Brian X. Foley. “My duty is to protect the welfare and the very lives of the people of this town and that is what we have done. Absentee landlords with a history of violations will not be permitted to endanger lives. We cannot permit the occupancy of a home with no heat and real and immediate and live-threatening fire threats.”

“I am happy to see the Town protecting our residents by shutting down our illegal houses,” said Councilman Tim Mazzei. “This is one of the most important enforcement issues we have and it has to be a priority to continue these actions in the future.”

The house has a long history of violations of Brookhaven Town codes. The landlord signed a State Supreme Court stipulation of agreement in 2005 and agreed to keep the house vacant until violations were corrected.

The landlord recently applied for a rental permit for the house. Town investigators inspected the house last week and found that the structure was illegally occupied and had no heat and numerous fire safety and electrical violations that had not been corrected. The investigators provided the residents with information about social service agencies that could help them find other housing alternatives.

On Thursday, the town condemned the house, preventing its occupancy. Representatives from the Nassau-Suffolk Coalition for the Homeless, the Family Service League, the Horace Hagedorn Foundation, the Peconic Housing Initiative, the Long Island Community Association, Catholic Charities, and the county Department of Social Service were all contacted by town officials to help the residents of the house find alternative housing and other assistance.

Town investigators and Public Safety officers stayed at the house during the evening to inform residents returning to the house that the structure had been determined to be unsafe and had been condemned. Those town officials were ready to provide any returning residents of the house with information about agencies that could help them find alternative housing.

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Office of the Supervisor
One Independence Hill • Farmingville • NY 11738 • Phone (631) 451-6955 • Fax (631) 451-6677