Calling the Town of North Hempstead's past efforts to enforce the problem of illegal multi-family dwellings "woefully inadequate," Republican candidate for the Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Frank Moroney, unveiled a plan at a press conference Aug. 7 to eradicate illegal housing at no additional cost to taxpayers.

"Illegal housing saps the Town of North Hempstead of vital resources. It adds stress to our existing infrastructure. It adds more traffic to our streets, depletes our water supply, increases the cost of garbage removal, and places additional burdens on volunteer firefighters and EMT's," said Moroney. "Illegal housing adds more expense to our school districts. It leaves law abiding taxpayers footing the bill. That must change."

Moroney believes the Town of North Hempstead's current enforcement of illegal housing is inadequate and that there is better enforcement of illegal housing in the villages within the town than in the unincorporated areas. He pointed out that the town has two employees dedicated to dealing with illegal housing whereas the Village of Mineola has three; the Village of Westbury has four full-time employees and one part-time employee; Great Neck Plaza has two employees dedicated to illegal housing and the Village of New Hyde Park has three employees dedicated to illegal housing.

Also, according to Moroney, in the May, June and July of 2003 combined, the Town of North Hempstead issued approximately 32 tickets. During that time, the Village of Mineola issued 141 tickets.

According to Moroney, the town's debt has had a debilitating effect on the ability to address illegal housing and other quality of life issues. Moroney points out that 52 cents of every dollar paid by taxpayers goes to service the debt amassed since 1994, leaving 48 cents left to pay for other services.

Therefore, the town needs to be creative and find innovative ways to address illegal housing, Moroney said. The Republican candidate's plan to fight illegal housing has six points and would require state legislation. The plan, he believes, would not only help the unincorporated areas of the town, but also the villages. The plan is as follows:

• The town would establish an inter-municipal code enforcement clearinghouse and database to coordinate the effort of the town and villages to combat illegal housing in North Hempstead. Information about violators who own property in different towns and villages would be shared.

• The town would transfer the cost of code enforcement to absentee landlords who violate the town code and New York State Building and Fire Prevention Code. This is done by requiring courts to assess costs to reimburse the town, villages and the county for all expenses and payments to remove the tenant and any and all violations. These expenses include the cost of relocation of the tenant, cost of counsel and reimbursement for the tenant for his/her costs actually incurred.

• The town would aggressively pursue landlords who rent without first getting the proper permit and increase fines for failure to comply with the existing registration law, including the hiring of more code enforcement officers.

• The town would enact a local law to allow the town to correct violations of the town code and the NYS Building and Fire Prevention Code. Issue and request for proposal (RFP) to hire architects, electricians, plumbers and others where an emergency situation exists to bring illegal structures and installations up to code, the cost of which will be paid by the property owner.

• The town would increase fines for multiple and persistent violators. Currently, they are:

1st offense - $1,000 - $2,500

2nd offense - $2,500 - $5,000

3 or more offenses - $5,000 - $10,000

The town would amend the local law to allow the court to take into consideration the fact that a landlord (including any corporate or other business enterprises in which the landlord has a majority interest) has violations in other jurisdictions in requiring the imposition of the maximum fine and add a persistent violator surcharge.

• The sixth point calls for the state to enact legislation to grant the town and villages new civil powers to battle illegal housing.

The state legislation Moroney is looking for would:

• Permit the building commissioner for the town and the superintendent of buildings for villages to commence a summary eviction proceeding in the name of the landlord/property owner in order to remove residential tenants occupying apartments that exist in violation of local law and the NYS Fire Prevention and Building Code.

• Require the appearance of the landlord in the proceeding or, in the case of a corporate owner, the largest shareholder or the managing member of a limited liability company. After notice and an opportunity to be heard and upon finding that the residential occupancy is illegal, a court must assess costs to reimburse the town, villages and the county for all expenses and payments to remove the tenant and any and all violations. These expenses include the cost of relocation of the tenant, cost of counsel and reimbursement of the tenant for his/her costs actually incurred.

• Make the Social Service District (Nassau County Department of Social Services) a party defendant to the summary proceeding to assist tenants in locating new and legal housing.

• Make the cost to the municipality a lien against the property, with the town, villages and county able to collect the assessment as an additional tax. This would also allow for the forfeiture of the real property for non-payment.

• Create a special "Illegal Housing" part in District Court where all such matters would be tried. This would alleviate unnecessary delay and permit the court to develop efficient methods to cope with illegal housing issues, including relocation of tenants.

"The cost of correcting or eliminating illegal housing must be paid by those who have profited by it, not those who are burdened by it," Moroney said. "The message to illegal landlords is clear:if you rent an illegal dwelling, you will be caught, you will pay, and you will be at risk of forfeiting your property."