North Hempstead strengthens leaf blower ban enforcement
A landscaper uses a gas-powered leaf blower in Lindenhurst, Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
The mechanical groan of gas-powered leaf blowers can be ubiquitous during the summer months. In 2019, the Town of North Hempstead banned commercial landscapers from using the devices from mid-June until mid-September. But the policy has proved difficult to enforce, officials said.
Town officials are now eyeing a new system for responding to the complaints. Code officers will be more precise in timing their inspections: After violations are reported, an officer will return the following week on the same time and day the alleged violation occurred. The town's policy has been to address calls within about 24 hours. But since landscapers generally follow a weekly schedule, that response can often be fruitless.
There is growing community concern over the devices, which have health and environmental risks. The blowers contribute to air pollution, including "ground-level" ozone, that can damage a person's lungs, according to the nonprofit Respiratory Health Association. Equipment operators can inhale fine particulate matter, and exposure can result in serious health risks including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart disease, according the nonprofit.
To help with enforcement efforts, the town's parking officers will be monitoring for potential lawbreakers. They will also hand out educational fliers to landscapers they see violating the rules. But they will not issue any tickets.
“We’re approaching it a little more like detectives than firemen,” town public safety commissioner Derek Skuzenski said in an interview.
If the complaint is filed on a Monday at 10 a.m., code enforcement will go to the site that time the following week.
“We’re changing our approach to be more data-driven than immediately reactive,” Skuzenski said.
First-time offenders are fined between $500 to $1,000. The penalty rises from $1,500 to $2,500 for second offenses, and $3,000 to $10,000 for additional violations.
The town's parking officers cannot write code violations. But they can help enforce the law.
The town's reporting system will also be streamlined, said town board member Christine Liu. Those who call the town’s 311 line to file a complaint will be connected to the public safety department.
“Throughout the year people would complain about it,” Liu said. “We’re just trying to put some teeth into enforcement.”
Evan Dackow, president of Jolly Green Tree and Shrub Care, said he's in favor of the new enforcement protocol.
"If you're not doing anything wrong, you've got nothing to hide," said Dackow, who serves on the board of the 1,700-member Landscape Contractors Association of Long Island.
Lawmakers in the State Senate recently introduced legislation forming a rebate program to incentivize the use of electric lawn equipment.
Other municipalities on Long Island have similar bans.
Southampton and East Hampton Towns have seasonal bans. Greenport Village prohibits them year-round. Huntington Town voted late last year to implement a two-phase plan that would eventually ban the use of gas blowers on commercial properties. The measure provided exceptions on limited days. But the restrictions are on hold after complaints from landscapers and residents, Newsday has reported.
Christine Scalera, Southampton Town’s deputy town attorney, wrote over email the municipality responds to “constituent complaints as close as we can in real time.”
“If there is an ongoing and repeat complaint in the area, we will similarly try and stage someone in the area on the corresponding dates and times to address those repeat scenarios,” Scalera wrote. “For this year we have identified prime complaint areas and we will be proactively mass distributing flyers in those areas to increase resident awareness.”
Huntington did not have as sophisticated of an enforcement mechanism built into the legislation, town spokesperson Christine Geed said. Greenport clerk Candace Hall said the village is still working out enforcement protocols for its ban, which went into effect in December.
In East Hampton Town, code officers conduct investigations if they see a violation, or receive a complaint on that same day, said Patrick Derenze, a town spokesman.
During a North Hempstead town board meeting earlier this month, Alan Franklin, a New Hyde Park resident, said the issue is particularly frustrating.
"I enjoy the fresh air, the sunlight, and I'm driven back into my house. If I want to take a walk through my neighborhood, chances are I better do it before 7 in the morning, because all day long we're going to have screaming blowers," Franklin said.
The mechanical groan of gas-powered leaf blowers can be ubiquitous during the summer months. In 2019, the Town of North Hempstead banned commercial landscapers from using the devices from mid-June until mid-September. But the policy has proved difficult to enforce, officials said.
Town officials are now eyeing a new system for responding to the complaints. Code officers will be more precise in timing their inspections: After violations are reported, an officer will return the following week on the same time and day the alleged violation occurred. The town's policy has been to address calls within about 24 hours. But since landscapers generally follow a weekly schedule, that response can often be fruitless.
There is growing community concern over the devices, which have health and environmental risks. The blowers contribute to air pollution, including "ground-level" ozone, that can damage a person's lungs, according to the nonprofit Respiratory Health Association. Equipment operators can inhale fine particulate matter, and exposure can result in serious health risks including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart disease, according the nonprofit.
To help with enforcement efforts, the town's parking officers will be monitoring for potential lawbreakers. They will also hand out educational fliers to landscapers they see violating the rules. But they will not issue any tickets.
New town enforcement policy
- Code enforcers to respond to complaints on a day the landscaper is most likely to be there.
- North Hempstead parking officers will be on the lookout for violations, but they won't be able to issue tickets
- Commercial landscapers are banned from operating gas-powered leaf blowers from the middle of June until the middle of September.
“We’re approaching it a little more like detectives than firemen,” town public safety commissioner Derek Skuzenski said in an interview.
If the complaint is filed on a Monday at 10 a.m., code enforcement will go to the site that time the following week.
“We’re changing our approach to be more data-driven than immediately reactive,” Skuzenski said.
First-time offenders are fined between $500 to $1,000. The penalty rises from $1,500 to $2,500 for second offenses, and $3,000 to $10,000 for additional violations.
Parking officers to help
The town's parking officers cannot write code violations. But they can help enforce the law.
The town's reporting system will also be streamlined, said town board member Christine Liu. Those who call the town’s 311 line to file a complaint will be connected to the public safety department.
“Throughout the year people would complain about it,” Liu said. “We’re just trying to put some teeth into enforcement.”
Evan Dackow, president of Jolly Green Tree and Shrub Care, said he's in favor of the new enforcement protocol.
"If you're not doing anything wrong, you've got nothing to hide," said Dackow, who serves on the board of the 1,700-member Landscape Contractors Association of Long Island.
Lawmakers in the State Senate recently introduced legislation forming a rebate program to incentivize the use of electric lawn equipment.
Island-wide issue
Other municipalities on Long Island have similar bans.
Southampton and East Hampton Towns have seasonal bans. Greenport Village prohibits them year-round. Huntington Town voted late last year to implement a two-phase plan that would eventually ban the use of gas blowers on commercial properties. The measure provided exceptions on limited days. But the restrictions are on hold after complaints from landscapers and residents, Newsday has reported.
Christine Scalera, Southampton Town’s deputy town attorney, wrote over email the municipality responds to “constituent complaints as close as we can in real time.”
“If there is an ongoing and repeat complaint in the area, we will similarly try and stage someone in the area on the corresponding dates and times to address those repeat scenarios,” Scalera wrote. “For this year we have identified prime complaint areas and we will be proactively mass distributing flyers in those areas to increase resident awareness.”
Huntington did not have as sophisticated of an enforcement mechanism built into the legislation, town spokesperson Christine Geed said. Greenport clerk Candace Hall said the village is still working out enforcement protocols for its ban, which went into effect in December.
In East Hampton Town, code officers conduct investigations if they see a violation, or receive a complaint on that same day, said Patrick Derenze, a town spokesman.
During a North Hempstead town board meeting earlier this month, Alan Franklin, a New Hyde Park resident, said the issue is particularly frustrating.
"I enjoy the fresh air, the sunlight, and I'm driven back into my house. If I want to take a walk through my neighborhood, chances are I better do it before 7 in the morning, because all day long we're going to have screaming blowers," Franklin said.
Joshua Needelman covers the Town of North Hempstead for Newsday. A Long Island native and University of Maryland graduate, his work has appeared in publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post.
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