Democratic candidate for Town of Hempstead Supervisor Harvey Levinson believes that illegal housing has reached the critical level in the Town of Hempstead. During a press conference in which he unveiled a 10-point plan to combat the problem, Levinson spoke about Elmont, where he believes illegal housing has been allowed to flourish.

"Illegal housing is a terribly serious problem. It clearly hurts our quality of life. People in Elmont, Franklin Square and other areas of the county can no longer park their cars in front of their own homes. The peace and quiet and tranquility that they pay so much taxes for has been destroyed on many streets in the western area of the county," Levinson said.

Levinson, who is currently the county assessor, attacked the town for letting illegal housing flourish by not having enough code enforcement officers and not prosecuting effectively.

Levinson pointed out that the town has 750,000 residents but only eight building inspectors who deal with illegal housing. He also pointed out that there are 3,900 illegal housing cases pending, 700 of which are in the Elmont community. "Clearly we have a crisis," he said.

Levinson's 10-point plan to fight illegal housing includes:

* Hiring 20 additional building code enforcement officers;

* Making fines double what a landlord is collecting a month for rent;

* Completely restructuring the Hempstead Town Attorney's office;

* Requesting additional days on the Nassau County Court docket to address cases involving illegal housing;

* Asking local attorneys to do pro bono work in assisting the Hempstead Town Attorney's office to prosecute illegal housing cases;

* Coordinating with first responders and garbage collectors to gather information;

* Creating an illegal housing hotline,

* Creating an illegal housing advisory board to work with civic leaders;

* Appointing a commissioner of housing.

Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, who sat by Levinson's side during the press conference, also believes illegal housing is a serious problem. "What we need is more code enforcers to go out and do the work," he said.

Suozzi was also critical of the Town of Hempstead. "They are not doing their job. They have failed to prosecute the illegal housing in the areas Harvey has mentioned," he said. "They're turning Hempstead into the sixth borough of New York City."

The community of Elmont seems to be a hotbed for illegal housing, according to civic leaders such as Elmont East End Civic Club President Patrick Nicolosi. "My community is now Queens. The only difference is that I pay three times the amount of taxes. I live in Nassau County over 30 years and my community is a disaster," he said. "We don't even get families anymore to come to Elmont. They're just looking for investments."

Seth Bykofsky, co-chair of The Community Alliance and past president of the West Hempstead Civic Association, was not at the press conference, but said, "All too often, illegal housing is looked at in a vacuum. We see the problem as overcrowded schools, too many cars on the street, dangers to health and safety - and, tragically, to life and limb - and, of course, ever-increasing property taxes. Rarely do we look at the flip side of the coin as cause and effect - the woeful and intolerable lack of affordable housing for our workforce, our college grads and our seniors."

Levinson believes that the housing stock in Elmont is easy to convert to turn into illegal units, which is contributing to the problem. "The prices are low. People can buy these properties for relatively low prices. Elmont has a worse problem than Franklin Square," he said.

"In Elmont, you have a lot of commercial property right next to the residential neighborhoods. It's hard when the character of the neighborhood is half and half to have a sense of ownership for what's going on right there in the area," said Suozzi, adding that illegal housing has crept into the neighborhoods of Elmont.

A Town of Hempstead spokesperson said the town has been proactive against illegal housing and has taken steps to fight it effectively. The spokesperson also fired back at Levinson criticizing his 10-point plan. The spokesperson said the town is already in the process of hiring additional code enforcement officers and doesn't have a problem prosecuting cases. The spokesperson said the town already has a hotline, only it is called a helpline, and the town already works with civic leaders and associations such as the Elmont Quality of Life Committee, which has a complaint form for illegal housing for the town. The spokesperson said the town already has a commissioner of housing, called a commissioner of buildings.

The spokesperson said there is no backlog for illegal housing cases. The 3,900 cases referred to are open cases. "They are being investigated. They are in the process of having something done. That's not a backlog. If he [Levinson] wants to talk about a backlog, he can talk about the backlog in tax certification cases in the assessment office. That has a backlog. He should be focusing on that," the spokesperson said.