Fracas over building records ignites in North Hempstead amid audit

North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena on Thursday called on town building officials not to obstruct the Nassau County comptroller’s audit of the department, confirming they only turned over some records recently after her intervention.

DeSena told Newsday a day before her Thursday news conference that she believed the records hadn't been turned over.

The supervisor said auditors were seeking information on recent building permit applicants and added that "potentially obstructing" the process could "only be seen as an attempt to stifle the audit."

DeSena has cited monthslong backlogs as a persistent problem in what she has called a "scandal-plagued" department and has made streamlining its operations a top priority since her 2021 election.

Building Department Commissioner John Niewender recently provided more records to the comptroller's office after getting clarification that the scope of the audit had been expanded, town spokesman Gordon Tepper told Newsday on Wednesday.

But in contrast, county comptroller's office spokeswoman Wendy L. Goldstein said Wednesday evening that the audit's scope hadn't been expanded.

Goldstein added that it was only after DeSena intervened when Niewender wouldn't turn over the additional documents without a subpoena or a Freedom of Information Law request that the comptroller's office received the records.

In 2007, a 16-month investigation into allegations of corruption led to the arrests and convictions of several North Hempstead building department employees.

Niewender seemed to suggest in an email to Newsday on Thursday morning that there were some legal concerns about turning over the records if a FOIL request hadn't been received from the county.

But when a Newsday reporter visited his office Thursday for clarification, town employees said he wasn't available.

Thomas McDonough, who leads a union that represents town building officials, said Thursday that the department is "grossly understaffed" and employees do their best with the resources they have.

“The supervisor needs to stop beating up on town employees and wait for the results of the audit,” McDonough added.

Councilwoman Veronica Lurvey said Thursday she had "great concerns over the appropriateness of the supervisor's interference in the audit process."

She added: “We expect an independent audit, and it would be deeply disturbing if the Supervisor were trying to politicize or unethically influence the audit."

The audit began in August after a request from DeSena. The county comptroller's office is examining the building department's operations and procedures, including the online portal, performance monitoring and regulatory compliance.

Niewender in August told Newsday he hoped the audit would exonerate the department and show that not enough funds had been allotted to properly staff it.

Lurvey, in a news release last week, touted the building department’s performance since the installation of Citizenserve, an online system that accepts applications electronically. The system launched in 2020 under former Supervisor Judi Bosworth's administration.

In 2019, it took an average of 133 days for an applicant to get a building permit, but that number fell to about 60 days in 2022, Lurvey said in the release. The councilwoman also said most of the 5,298 building permit applications filed in 2022 were processed in just more than a month.

The simmering issue could come to a boiling point Tuesday.

The town board has scheduled a public hearing to consider a law that would require DeSena to turn over a copy of a "complete and thorough review" she previously said she did of the building department's operations before asking for the audit.