Increases in Town of Brookhaven fines for housing violations proposed

A Town of Brookhaven home with an accessory apartment that doesn’t meet standards. A building altered without a permit. A vehicle parked on the front lawn.

In the future, people caught committing those offenses and others in the town may soon be paying much more in penalties as part of an effort to reduce illegal housing and increase housing safety, officials say.

Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico announced Monday two resolutions that together would increase fines on several violations, including running a rental without a permit and using property for unpermitted purposes.

There has been "a great deal of crackdown that's always existed here, but what we found, and what was the genesis of this legislation, was that the fines were too low," Panico said at a news conference to announce the legislation on Monday.

He added: "For a first-time offense, $500, when you're getting $3,000 a month for a whole-house rental or more."

The proposed new minimum fines could more than double, moving in some cases from $500 to $2,500 for the first offense such as having a home without a certificate of occupancy. The proposed maximum fines for that behavior and some other violations would be $6,000, moving from the previous amount of $4,000, town officials said.

Moreover, every week that the violation continues will mean a new additional violation, the town said.

Officials say the resolutions comes as illegal housing continues to be a safety and quality-of-life issue. Council members have said they have been "inundated" with concerns about illegal rentals, party houses near universities, and slum housing, Panico said.

Town officials say they receive numerous reports from the building department and fire officials of blazes in unsafe housing.

The illegal construction of walls in residences can mean that the homes don’t adhere to electric and building codes that can help prevent a fire, said Michael Loguercio, a town council member who is also a fire and emergency services volunteer.

"When you do have a fire, firefighters enter the building ... doing a search or a rescue, and what happens is they're crawling into walls that shouldn't be there," said Loguercio.

Panico did not say Monday how many notices of violations were issued last year but noted that there are "a great number of homes" not in compliance.

Town officials also are asking residents to tell them if they believe that there is a rental in their community that is causing issues.

Panico added that the town has made it easier for residents to rent their homes, getting rid of its Accessory Apartment Review Board and allowing people to do that administratively in the building division.

"We stand ready to help people who want to do it the right way," said Panico. "But if you want to thumb your nose at the people who live in our communities, we are going to prosecute to the maximum extent possible."

The town board is expected to hold a public hearing on the resolutions on Nov. 19.

By Tiffany Cusaac-Smith

tiffany.cusaac-smith@newsday.com@T_Cusaac

Education: Howard University 

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith came to Newsday in 2023 after being a race and history reporter at USA TODAY, where she wrote enterprise and spot articles examining how the past shapes the present. Previously, she worked as the race and justice reporter at the USA TODAY Network of New York, covering issues such as criminal justice reform, housing, environmental justice, health care and politics. At The Journal News/lohud.com in Westchester County, she covered Yonkers, the state's third-largest city. She also worked at The Associated Press in Atlanta.

Honors and Awards: Criminal justice reporting fellowship with the National Press Foundation;  New York News Publishers Association award for distinguished investigative reporting;  Contributed reporting for Best of Gannett honor; Member of Table Stakes, a program funded by the Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund and managed by the American Press Institute to transform local news.