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Judge says illegal rental unit can be shut down, as immigration advocates worry about unfair treatment

BY BART JONES
Newsday Staff Writer

May 11, 2006

While Brookhaven Town officials yesterday celebrated a court decision allowing them to shut down an illegal rental unit in Farmingville, advocates for immigrants who live in similar units said they hoped the town wouldn't use the decision to carry out mass on-the-spot evictions.

State Supreme Court Justice Emily Pines sided with the town in her May 1 decision, saying that a house at 104 Granny Rd., which until late last year was occupied by 24 men, many Hispanic day laborers, had flouted the town code and the state fire prevention and building code.

Landlords Celia and Richard Durao "have not come close to remedying the illegal conversions, as well as many of the other provisions" of the fire prevention code, Pines wrote in her nine-page decision. She added that the Duraos' two-page affidavit had "barely scratched the surface" in addressing safety violations.

The decision gives the town a green light to shut down the place and prevent the Duraos from renting it out as a boardinghouse. The town had cited the home for lacking detectors for carbon monoxide or smoke, and for faulty wiring and outlets.

"We will not allow greedy landlords to flaunt the law and ruin neighborhoods to fatten their wallets," Town Supervisor Brian X. Foley said in a news release. "Through aggressive inspections, enforcement and court action as needed, we will ensure that the laws of Brookhaven are followed."

"This is a very important, symbolic victory over the Landlords Coalition," said Deputy Town Supervisor Jack Schnirman, referring to a group of Long Island homeowners that has fought in court against efforts to close down such properties.

But advocates for immigrant workers said they hoped the town doesn't forcibly evict tenants of such homes without allowing them to remove their belongings and find other housing.

"We're really surprised and a little confused," said Erma Solis of the Workplace Project in Farmingville, an advocacy group for immigrant workers.

"What we've been waiting for is a call from him [Foley]," Solis said. "He has not met with any of the organizations that work with the day laborers. I believe everyone had faith he would do things differently."

Solis noted that a federal court judge had ruled the town's crackdown on illegal housing was illegal and discriminatory.

"While we are going to enforce the codes very aggressively, what we are not going to do is act in haste and rush into a situation creating homelessness," Schnirman said.