Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Illegal conversions also rampant outside NYC
From NBC:
A Suffolk County woman's death in a fire over the weekend marked the second time this month that a fire in an illegally converted garage apartment claimed lives.
Dori Costa, 46, was killed in a Sunday's fire inside a converted Islip garage, according to Suffolk county police. The cause was believed to be accidental, and the apartment where the single mother lived and died was illegal, according to Islip town officials.
"I know she was in between jobs and trying to provide for her kids," said neighbor Mike Curry. "It's a tragedy."
Gary Munsch, 54 and his wife, Toni, 51, were killed in a March 17 fire at their garage apartment in Massapequa.
According to housing experts, both tragedies can be linked to Long Island's lack of affordable rental apartments.
"There's thousands of illegal apartments on Long Island," said Peter Elkowitz. the CEO of the non-profit Long Island Housing Help.
Long Island has long had a shortage of affordable rentals, Elkowitz said. And more are seeking cheap places to live, as foreclosure rates rise in the area.
In addition, said Elkowitz, Long Island's rising property taxes continue to force homeowners to rent out garages or basements as a way to reduce their costs.
Okay, this may be part of it, but the biggest reason for illegal rentals is greed. People buy homes they wouldn't be able to afford if not for the illegal rentals and many unscrupulous realtors advertise the fact that you can illegally convert the home in order to make a sale. It also seems that when tragedy strikes, rarely does the homeowner live on premises; these are generally investment properties. You can make more off a property by illegally subdividing it and renting out the multiple units at a cheaper price. Throw in rental income from parking spaces - and it's all tax free! A renter also saves money by renting a cheaper illegal unit. But they could also share a legal apartment with roommates and probably pay about the same.
You want to see illegal apartments disappear? Ramp up the enforcement, stand firm against legalizing out of compliance units and then follow it up with IRS and state tax penalties. Enough with the excuses already.
10 comments:
You want to see illegal apartments disappear? Ramp up the enforcement, stand firm against legalizing out of compliance units and then follow it up with IRS and state tax penalties. Enough with the excuses already.
Amen - Enforce the law - create penalties to confiscate the property. Scare the homeowners. Arrest illegal aliens seeking these apartments to hide in. Arrest homeowner for harboring them.
Se renta cuarto?
You really want to see illegal conversions disappear? Build affordable housing so people can get legal apartments at a rent they can pay with the puny wages they are paid in many NYC jobs.
Illegal apts are a part of the law of supply and demand.
As long as Bloomberg puts city money into tax abatements and subsidies for "affordable" housing with rents that start at $1500 a month, you'll have illegal places that start at $500 a month.
ROTFL @ anon2 with se renta cuarto... I can't tell you how many times I see that in my neighborhood of Ridgewood. It's everywhere from Fresh Pond to Wyckoff...
I never forget the time I was heading to my friends apartment and right next to his bell apartment 2L or 1L said familia Rodriguez, familia martinez, familia ayala, Familia delgado... there were like six families living in that apartment... how they fit so many people inside a railroad apartment is beyond me...
Rents really need to stop rising so much... its unfortunate that so many houses were allowed to be bought by people that couldn't afford them in the first place so they hike up the rents and allow for an unsafe amount of people in one location as long as they pay every month...
"As long as Bloomberg puts city money into tax abatements and subsidies for "affordable" housing with rents that start at $1500 a month, you'll have illegal places that start at $500 a month."
True, and as long as tenants get succession rights to rent regulated apartments we won't have any turnover of quality housing either, and the law of supply and demand will keep illegal aprtments in demand.
there is no enforcement by the city council and d.o.e inspectors. they go through the motions of leaving paper on the doors and never returning after the second request for a call back.
it is a scam. they are dealing with thieves,but worried about their civil rights.
it should read "d.o.b"
If people were so damn greedy at the expense of the lives of others, we wouldn't have this problem. The laws haven't been enforced and now it's going to hurt all of us because census numbers are so low that we won't get the funding we should. Perhaps now our elected officials will lean on the DOB
Here in north Flushing where I live illegal apartments are rampant. Concerned neighbors keep calling the DOB but all they get are LS4's posted on the violators door.
The illegal apartment are left alone while the legal homeowners taxes are raised to pay for all the services the illegals use. What a shame on our elected politicians...
Illegal conversions are death-traps - The Fire Marshall has the authority to padlock the property - send out these folks to do their jobs. Oh! Sorry they shut down the firehouse near you? No Marshall and a fire in an illegally converted property=death.
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