One day soon, the City of Glen Cove Building Department may be knocking at your door to inspect your home "for the purposes of determining compliance with Chapter 168 of the City Code and other applicable laws.." If you think that you can avoid the city inspectors, be warned that the new ordinance empowers the city to obtain search warrants for "any premises believed to be subject to registry jurisdiction." The penalties for violations are severe. Anyone who fails to comply with any of the requirements may be imprisoned, even for a first offense.

About two years ago the city held a public hearing to outline a plan to mandate registration and inspection of all non-owner occupied multi-family dwellings. This proposal met with such strong opposition from the surprisingly large number of people attending the hearing that the plan was shelved. Rather, it was decided to form a committee of local tenants, landlords, real estate brokers and city officials to combat illegal and substandard housing.

This committee was never formed. Instead, despite unanimous opposition from landlords and tenants alike, the registration and inspection proposal for multi-family residential dwellings was quietly enacted. Now the city has embarked on Phase II of their plan by requiring registration and inspection of all non-owner occupied one and two-family homes. How long will it be before all homes will be subject to similar regulations?

The same objections that were voiced two years ago are still valid. The city is punishing those who own and occupy legal and decent housing for the sins of those landlords who own and rent out substandard and illegal housing. The inspections are an invasion of privacy. The registration requirements are burdensome and unnecessary. The new legislation does not promote improvement and investment in our city, but creates a roadblock for either new or continued investment. Rather than promoting cooperation between landlord, tenants, and city officials the ordinance is adversarial in nature.

Knowing that our city council has the very best of intentions for our city, I am confident they will reconsider and revise this new legislation.

Norman Sorenson, Jr.