Nassau County Assessors Office

(Mineola, NY) Spurred by the recent success of Nassau County Assessor Harvey Levinson’s initiatives to combat the growth of illegal and unsafe rooming houses throughout the county, Malverne Mayor Anthony Panzarella and Board of Trustees today announced their intention to create an illegal housing task force and plans to establish the most stringent penalties and enforcement measures on Long Island.

Mayor Panzarella’s illegal housing task force will conduct joint investigations with Assessor Levinson’s office to identify and penalize the most egregious violations of the village’s building codes and zoning laws. In addition, the mayor plans on introducing a local law mandating that unscrupulous property owners who rent illegally be fined double the monthly rent that they charged the tenant; and, will support Levinson’s call for state legislation to prohibit landlords of illegal apartments from collecting back rent payments from tenants in court.

“The intent of my crackdown on illegal apartments is not only a quality of life issue but a safety issue as well,” Mayor Panzarella stated. “All too often we hear of reports of police and fire department personnel who respond to emergency calls only to find tenants living in basements of homes separated by makeshift walls of drywall or sheets with no direct exit leading out of the house. Clearly, these homes must be identified and shutdown for the safety of its inhabitants and emergency personnel who are called to these sites.”

The Village of Malverne will be using an Emergency Response Report form that was designed by Assessor Levinson last year and has been used by Nassau County Police and the Fire Marshall to report unsafe living conditions and possible code violations. Once the violations have been confirmed through local and county inspection, the single-family zoned property will be reclassified by the Department of Assessment from residential to commercial property for taxation purposes until the violation is corrected. On average, the commercial property tax rate is 2 ½ times higher than the residential rate.

“I look forward to working with Mayor Panzarella and applaud his dedication to the residents of Malverne,” stated Assessor Levinson. “I hope that this joint press conference will inspire other local officials to join Malverne and the Town of Oyster Bay in cooperating with the Department of Assessment to develop a comprehensive policy to combating the growth of illegal housing throughout the county.

Malverne is the first village to announce its intention to work in cooperation with the Nassau County Department of Assessment. The Nassau County Village Officials Association recently passed a resolution to work with and support Assessor Levinson’s illegal housing initiatives.

To learn more about Assessor Harvey Levinson’s initiatives to combat illegal housing, please visit the Department of Assessment Website at www.mynassauproperty.com.

MAYOR ANTHONY PANZARELLA AND ASSESSOR LEVINSON ANNOUNCE JOINT INITIATIVE TO COMBAT ILLEGAL ROOMING HOUSES IN MALVERNE