Letters to the Editor: Rentals 11.12.15

Problem Is Enforcement

Montauk

November 5, 2015

To the Editor,

In my opinion, the rush to implement a rental registry is a knee-jerk reaction to a small percentage of renters that have been allowed to abuse the system. This abuse has been happening for maybe the last few years. Considering the fact that homeowners have been renting their rooms and houses for many years, it seems excessive.

The year-round people of all ages that rent during the season need the extra income. These aren’t the scary faceless people referred to in last week’s letters to the editor, these are people in our town that live month to month on Social Security, people that fix your cars, fix your plumbing, fish for your food, build your decks, serve you dinner, send their kids to college.

The laws already in place do work; the problem is enforcement. We have all read in this paper, different examples showing how the system can and does work. Funding the police and code enforcement departments so they have the manpower to follow through with each complaint is the key to solving this problem. Adding a rental registry along with an additional set of laws to monitor and enforce will only create a bureaucratic nightmare and expense for the town.

I also believe that implementing a rental registry will create a feeling of distrust and will divide this community. Communication between neighbors is a vital part of living in a small town. If you have a problem you go and talk to the neighbor and try and work it out.

I think we can all agree that after the huge turnout at the Montauk Fire Department the message was taken seriously and there were improvements. Proper enforcement of existing laws was implemented, and things got much better for the remainder of the summer. The few bad apples should not dictate policy for an entire town.

My suggestion would be to strictly enforce the existing codes and increase the fines for people abusing the system. This could be done by hiring seasonal code enforcement assistants to do the necessary foot work needed to investigate complaints.

The other tool now available to neighbors is the Montauk United website, which offers a complaint link to register complaints directly to the town. That is, after you have tried talking to your neighbor.

MICHAEL KINNEY

Perfectly Reasonable

Amagansett

November 6, 2015

Dear David,

Not that you asked, but my thoughts on an East Hampton Town rental registry are: Isn’t it, first, about safety? Second, about community responsibility? And, third, about the I.R.S.?

I was a residential real estate landlord in Manhattan. I always thought a safety inspection perfectly reasonable. I installed pricey fire and burglar alarm systems (which failed at the only time needed). I did protest a violation for not having “whitewashed” (lime?) the boiler room. I passed inspection after painting the wall as a subtle ivory and strategically stenciling rude sayings in Latin (“habeo catapultam!”) every 10 feet.

There should be no fees imposed on any local taxpayer or landlord for renting to an East Hampton public school graduate. A good investment should be awarded!

All good things,

DIANA WALKER

Why the Hullabaloo?

Springs

November 9, 2015

Dear David,

Why is there such a hullabaloo about the proposed rental registry? There appear to be two adversarial sides. It is so hard to understand who is telling us the truth about this proposal, as what one side says diametrically opposes the other side. So whom do we believe? Both sides can’t be right.

We know other towns on Long Island have rental registry laws, Huntington and our neighbor Southampton to mention just two. Some say that in Southampton it has not been successful. Have you ever driven around the streets of Hampton Bays (not on 27, which goes through it), a town much like Springs, working-class families, houses on half-acres and quarter-acres and many young children. But rarely does one see trucks on the lawn and multiple cars clustered around the single-family residences that make them look more like motels. So it must be that there is something going on in that town that says Southampton’s rental registry is working. Also, I read The Southampton Press every week and I have never read about any lawsuits involving their rental registry law.

People who rent can continue to rent their homes upon the tenets of this proposal. They will need to fill out a relatively simple form, pay $125 fee, and self-certify that their houses comply with simple safety and health regulations, which are for their own protection as well as their tenants’. So why are those who oppose the law so uncontrollably angry about the proposal, going to extremes to proselytize and marshal an army against it? And where is the money coming from to finance their campaign? They can continue to make the money they need or want, whichever the case may be. So again, why the hullabaloo? Their actions and words have been shameful, really dreadful, even to the extent of persecuting neighbors. And for what? Wonder how they sleep at night!

Bottom line is this: If we continue to allow the burgeoning amount of people who occupy our residences, as we have seen so far and I have personally witnessed, the water we drink that comes from under our feet and is presently endangered will be doomed, and no one will be renting, ’cause the East End will be over.

Sincerely,

PHYLLIS ITALIANO

Let’s Get This Done

Montauk

November 9, 2015

Dear David,

A rental registry is an absolute necessity. Montauk summer rentals are out of control, and no number of additional code enforcement officers can solve the problem with breaking the town’s budget, given the current unenforceable laws.

Our summer population has exploded despite there having been no new motels built here for over a decade. New home construction has been modest at best. Where are all these new visitors living? Last summer there were over 1,300 online rentals listed for Montauk. That’s about a third of all the homes we have here.

This would not be so much of a problem if the occupants (and landlords) were responsible. But very many are not. The rentals are frequently overcrowded, thereby stressing septic capacity, and all-night parties proliferate.

My wife and I pay taxes to live in a residential zone. The explosion of illegal rentals has resulted in de facto commercial districts within residential neighborhoods without the responsible management, taxes, or health department and fire marshal oversight motel owners are required to provide.

I applaud the town board’s efforts to streamline the proposed code. It is far less burdensome than the registries now benefiting 7 of the 10 towns in Suffolk County.

Let’s get this done. It’s time to get our town back under control.

BILL AKIN