Monday, December 3, 2007

Bigger fines for illegal hotels

Illegal Hoteliers Could Face Higher Penalties
Special to the Sun

Building owners operating illegal hotels may soon face stiff penalties, as the City Council debates legislation today that could fine them as much as $20,000 for secretly renting out residential apartments as hotels.

City Council member Gale Brewer, who is sponsoring the legislation, said yesterday that there would be no change to the law regarding illegal hotels, only an increase in the fines associated with violations. "Lots of people pay the fine and it's worth it to them," Ms. Brewer said of the current penalties.

Under the proposed bill, owners caught renting rooms in residential units for short-length stays would pay as much as $5,000 for their first offense, $15,000 for their second, and $20,000 for a third.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

How about hotels that are employing illegals?

Anonymous said...

"City Council debates legislation today that could fine them as much as $20,000 for secretly renting out residential apartments as hotels."

The City council should focus on the lack of enforcement of laws that exist on the books. How about focusing on single family homes that are used and carved out to rent sleeping cubicles by the week to illegal imigrants?

The proposed fines have no teeth if enforcement by DOB is non-existent and federal immigration laws continue to be ignored by the city policy of don't ask or check status. The city will eventually pay a bigger price in the future I fear, if it does not reverse course.

Anonymous said...

There are at least 4 Korean owned hotels/brothels (?)
operating in the Broadway/Flushing
residential neighborhood where I live.

DOB doesn't do shit about them.
Maybe now when they get nailed with
heftier fines.....they'll be finally driven out!

The FBI already closed down one 'house"
for trafficking in humans.

Yep......you guessed right.....also Korean owned !

(Now if identifying the owners by nationality
makes me a racist.....then I'm proud of it) !