Nassau County Deputy Presiding Officer Roger Corbin (D-Westbury) recently joined with Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi, Village of Hempstead Mayor James Garner, Town of North Hempstead Councilman Fred Pollack and Legislator Craig Johnson (D-Port Washington) to announce a new initiative to slash illegal housing and commercial code violations in Nassau County.

The Nassau County Office of Housing and Intergovernmental Affairs (OHIA) will transfer $150,000 and $50,000 in grants from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to the Town of North Hempstead and the Village of Hempstead, respectively. The new enforcement initiative will help to revitalize areas blighted by illegal housing and commercial code violations.

"We have to be tough on this issue," said Corbin. "The school districts pay the price when illegal housing codes are ignored and the community pays the price. This additional funding, together with public and private improvements and on-going rehabilitation work, will arrest the decline of the areas impacted by illegal housing and commercial code violations."

"There are a lot of people in this county who are under the impression that ignoring our housing and commercial regulations is like jaywalking: a victimless crime. These individuals are mistaken, and those who do not obey will soon find that local government is treating this offense like the dangerous problem that it really is," said Suozzi.

The funding from the Office of Housing and Intergovernmental Affairs will be used to pay for costs incurred from the inspection of code violations and for the enforcement of local codes. This includes the payment of the salaries of newly hired code enforcement officers who will focus their efforts in the targeted neighborhoods. These funds will also be used to pay for the costs of the legal proceedings involved in the issuance of code violations.

"In order to stay on top of illegal housing and commercial problems in the Village of Hempstead, the county's largest community, we already have an active cadre of village code enforcement officers," said Mayor Garner. "This grant will help us expand our efforts."

To assist code enforcement officers in identifying and addressing specific cases of illegal housing in the Village of Hempstead, please contact the Village of Hempstead Building Department at 489-3400, ext. 345. In the Town of North Hempstead, please call 263-2213. All calls will be kept strictly confidential.