Senator Golden Sells Out Brooklyn Again!
The residents in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn have complained about the damage being done to their community due to the the homes being used in a different capacity then they were intended. The Brooklyn HPA (Housing Preservation Alliance) was formed for to educate and inform the public about the local housing issues. Recently they held a community meeting that was well attended – some Sunset Park residents attended as well because the problem exists there as we. (More about the meeting here)
Some people will question – who cares what someone does in their home? Everyone cares when it affects them! Illegal home conversions bring many problems starting with overcrowding at school and local children being turned away from their schools because of overcrowding (UPK programs), lack of parking and especially increased noise if the attached home next to you went from being occupied by four people to 15 or 20 residents. There is also a question about safety if supporting beams from been removed from an adjacent home and even fire hazards. The Bensonhurst Bean pointed out a fire at an illegally converted home killed five people because it took three times as long for a fire to be put out be they as the firemen had to break down more walls.
Senator Golden wrote a bill at the beginning of February to fine home owners who illegally convert homes. Some Dyker Heights residents think Senator Golden is helping them, but it’s obvious that he’s just appeasing these residents with a cheap bill. Golden’s bill will only fine those who are illegally converting their homes $1000 – YES JUST A THOUSAND DOLLARS. That’s nothing to the home owner who is collected $24000 – $50000+ a year in rent. Golden also wrote that the penalty could be up to thirty days in jail., Jails are already crowded and few people who commit crimes like this actually go to jail. Most people wouldn’t want these people in jail because that’s more of our tax money being wasted.
Here’s what legislation with real fines in NYC cost:
- The fine for someone cutting their curb illegally is $2500 (and then they need to spend the money to get architect plans and submit the plans)
- In 2007, City Council Member Simcha Felder proposed a $1000 fine be given for people feeding pigeons.
- Riding an electric bike got NY’ers a $1000 fine and their bike taken away too
The fine for illegal conversations should rest on the home owner and should fit the crime – the cost of a seat in one of our local schools. A thousand dollars is a spit in a buck. A home owner who illegally converts and rents his home with little regard for his/her neighbors should be fined appropriately. While the home owner rakes in the money, schools in the area are being overcrowded. The homeowner should be charged enough to deter other home owners in the area from doing the same.
Local newspaper posted the story about Golden’s silly bill and several places shared it without comment including the Brooklyn HPA. How does anyone share that and not write SENATOR GOLDEN STOP SELLING OUT BROOKLYN! IMPOSE A REALISTIC FINE ON THESE PEOPLE WHO ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF the NEIGHBORHOOD. Dyker Heights should be calling for Golden to change the law fairly or step down and let someone who cares about the area create legislation.
Not only does a realistic fine need to be imposed, but residents need to know which homes have been reported so a registry is needed. Currently, someone looking for a home in the area is able to use the city records to look up the homes surrounding the home they are looking up. People can’t be paying $700,000 and up for a home in the area and find out that their neighbors have converted their homes to make more money and were only fined $1000. If you are a resident in the area, you should be able to know which homes have been reported and which still need to be reported. Registries like this are used all the time – if someone doesn’t pay their water bill/taxes their names have appeared in the paper (You can see who hasn’t paid here)
I know people think that they are being helpful creating an online petition because they saw Senator Golden and Assemblywoman Malliotakis’ petition for the bridge, but that petition and the Verrazano Bridge toll failed last Spring (yes they even continued to push it the petition this year so it looks like they are doing something), Petitions don’t do anything except give people the feeling that they are doing something. Senator Golden didn’t need a petition to write the bill to give millions of dollars of tax breaks to wealthy developers in Manhattan (see what it sells for sold for $$) – he just did it! Golden obviously doesn’t care that 1700 people in his community signed it or he would have made a bill with harsh penalties for those profiting from your community. Maybe Golden thinks he represents Manhattan because why would a Brooklyn senator write a bill for a building in Manhattan?
If I was a Dyker Heights resident who wanted to get change here, I would contact Leticia James or better yet, I would get an attorney to start a class action suit and sue the owners of the homes who are destroying your neighborhood.
Check out Senator Golden’s current legislation – this one about waiving provisions is interesting and so is the fact that he has several bills for the police department and office of corrections – you will also notice there isn’t much there for Dyker Heights or Bay Ridge
Hugs,
marlene
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