Friday, May 6, 2016

Seeking cease and desist zone

From the Queens Chronicle:

At a public hearing organized by state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) and state officials, members of the public testified about the need for cease-and-desist zones — a designation that allows residents of certain areas to sign up for a list with the state that makes it unlawful for real estate brokers to solicit them.

“The people in the community are complaining about people that knock on their door at 7:30 on a Sunday morning asking if their houses are for sale and the tremendous solicitation,” Fresh Meadows Homeowners Association President Jim Gallagher said in his testimony.

Between 1989 and 2009, the entire borough was a cease-and-desist zone. Under current state law, neighborhoods can be declared cease-and-desist zones if they are considered eligible. Excessive solicitation must be demonstrated to the state by residents of an area who desire the designation. In addition to door knocking, the appeals come in the form of phone calls and mail.

At the end of his testimony, Avella presented a bag with dozens of pieces of solicitation mail “for dramatic effect.”

The hearing, which happened in the auditorium of Bayside High School last Thursday, was before officials from the New York State Department of State, the agency that determines whether the zones should be adopted.

Twelve people, most of whom self-identified as members of civic associations, spoke in favor of reinstating the designation. But as Avella put it in a press release issued the following day, the 27 real estate brokers who testified against making the borough a cease-and-desist zone “organized to hijack” the hearing.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am sick and tired of finding realtor advertising cards in my mailbox, either mailed or just stuck in there. Always Chinese realtors, as though we don't have enough of a Chinese creep in the demographics of our co-op complex. What a thrill it is to find Chinese old women bums rummaging through your recycling bin for bottles they won't find there, meanwhile spilling trash all over your lawn and garden. Enough!!

Anonymous said...

Good for Tony Avella!!! Standing up for the people of the community, how refreshing. The realtors better take heed and start behaving legally.

Anonymous said...

Truth be told, by the end of the hearing, some of those brokers did speak for homeowners being allowed to opt out.

The only people who spoke against the cease and desist proposal were the distributors of the unwanted calls, home visits, flyers, brochures, sticky-notes, etc. By the end, many of the brokers speaking against the proposal called for banning unsolicited information whenever people take the affirmative step of listing their names indicating that they do not want to be harrassed.

Anonymous said...

Why didn't he do this 8-10 years ago? Oh that's right he was too busy letting those McMansions get built.

Anonymous said...

find out where the RE agents live and go pester them at their homes

Anonymous said...

There are decent realtors and then there are assholes !! The city needs to crack down on their harassment...

Jerry Rotondi, BFHA member said...

Where are your city council members on the issue of excessive harassment by realtors? Mine is a lobbyist for the real estate industry.
Dump Councilman Paul Vallone. His family business is lobbying for developers.

Anonymous said...

I passed a home in a Brooklyn nabe targeted by aggressive realtors. The homeowner put up a sign. It read, "Don't bother. Not selling".
There you go. I am putting up a similar sign on my Broadway Flushing home. Of course it will have a Chinese and Korean translation.

Anonymous said...

I have shut off my hard wired doorbell and substituted a wireless model with the bell moveable anywhere out of earshot.
It's also a good security measure. A would be daytime burglar likes to ring a bell to see if someone is home. If he cannot hear it ring, he will assume it is broken and the residents are still at home. They rarely knock.

Anonymous said...

Somebody ought to buy our favorite white knight a white horse.
Sir Tony. How many dragons has he effectively slain?

Anonymous said...

I'm finding hand written offers for home improvement. Like , I'm no Donald Trump, but I'm not about to hire. a Mexican day laborer to fix my roof. He's uninsured , falls, sues me and winds up owning my home.

Anonymous said...

Too bad my foolish Rickert Finlay deed restrictions forbid me from fencing in my property.
Then I coukd have let my dog roam the yard and solicitors beware.

Anonymous said...

I am considering motion detectors attached to my sprinkler system.
Any unwanted visitors while I am sleeping on Sunday, whatever, will get soaked.
So will their buying plans.

Anonymous said...

Vermin realtors are not all Asian. Judy Markowitz, Remax, is a real pain in the ass.

Anonymous said...

My home is values at $800,000 by the NYC Delt. Of Finance.
Maybe I should put up a sign that says "NO OFFER LOWER THAN TWO MILLION DOLLARS WILL BE CONSIDERED"
Then, if some dope wants to buy it, goodbye me from this Asian ghetto.

Anonymous said...

Why didn't he do this 8-10 years ago? Oh that's right he was too busy letting those McMansions get built.

8-10 years ago there were no McMansions, you moron.

Anonymous said...


Chinese and Korean realtors, incredibly rude, their sub-culture doesn't allow for good manners.

Get a super soaker water gun and blast the hell out of them. After all, either owning or renting, your the king of your castle.

Anonymous said...

The city needs to be a cease and desist zone for any new building construction.

Anonymous said...

Why didn't he do this 8-10 years ago? Oh that's right he was too busy letting those McMansions get built.

Who Avella? What about the rest of the crew?
Isn't Vallone is the area?
Jackass.

Anonymous said...

Somebody ought to buy our favorite white knight a white horse.
Sir Tony. How many dragons has he effectively slain?

Too many to count. He has been a huge advocate and fighter for his constituents. I like that you call him Sir.

Anonymous said...

Wouldn't it be nice if they went the extra step and made a 'no call list' for political calls. They have no problem with multiple calls, flyers and door to door when it is in their interest so they aren't going to stop another group from doing it.

Anonymous said...

It's called blockbusting and the Asian realtors are guilty of it. But no one will say a word about it .

Anonymous said...

Somebody ought to buy our favorite white knight a white horse.
Sir Tony. How many dragons has he effectively slain?

Buy that horse for your employer Stinky.

Anonymous said...

Why would a weakly publish this when they're all just tools of the realtors and developers? So confused!!!

Anonymous said...

Stinky rides a black horse. No, this is not a Stinky troll. You Avella fans cannot take the truth. Avella, though good intentioned, rare accomplishes much. The political mob does not like him.