A town of Brookhaven home with a secondary suite that does not meet standards. A building modified without a permit. A vehicle parked on the front lawn.

In the future, people caught committing these crimes and other city residents could soon face much higher fines as part of an effort to reduce illegal housing and increase street safety. housing, officials say.

Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico announced two resolutions Monday that together would increase fines for several violations, including operating a rental without a license and using the property for unauthorized purposes.

There has been “a lot of enforcement that has always existed here, but what we found, and what was the genesis of this legislation, was that the fines were too low,” Panico said at a conference press release to announce the legislation Monday.

He added: “For a first offense, $500, while you get $3,000 a month for renting an entire house or more.”

The proposed new minimum fines could more than double, in some cases from $500 to $2,500 for the first offense, such as having a home without a certificate of occupancy. The proposed maximum fines for this behavior and some other violations would be $6,000, up from $4,000, city officials said.

Additionally, each week that the violation continues will result in a new additional violation, the city said.

Officials say the resolutions come as illegal housing remains a safety and quality of life problem. Council members said they had been “inundated” with concerns about illegal rentals, party houses near universities and slums, Panico said.

City officials say they receive numerous reports from the building department and fire department of fires in unsafe housing.

Illegal wall construction in residences can mean homes don’t meet electrical and building codes that can help prevent a fire, said Michael Loguercio, a city council member who also volunteers in fire services. fire and emergency.

“When there’s a fire, firefighters go into the building … to do a search or rescue, and what happens is they crawl into walls that shouldn’t be there “, Loguercio explained.

Panico did not say Monday how many violation notices were issued last year, but noted there were “a large number of households” that were not complying.

City officials are also asking residents to tell them if they think there is a rental in their community that is problematic.

Panico added that the city has made it easier for residents to rent their homes, by doing away with its secondary suite review board and allowing people to do so administratively in the building division.

“We are ready to help those who want to do it the right way,” Panico said. “But if you want to thumb your nose at the people who live in our communities, we’re going to pursue it to the fullest extent possible.”

The city council is expected to hold a public hearing on the resolutions on November 19.

Education: Howard University

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith came to Newsday in 2023 after serving as a race and history reporter at USA TODAY, where she wrote business stories and spots examining how the past shapes the present. Previously, she worked as a race and justice reporter at the USA TODAY Network in New York, covering issues including criminal justice reform, housing, environmental justice, health care and politics. At Journal News/lohud.com in Westchester County, she covered Yonkers, the state’s third-largest city. She also worked at the Associated Press in Atlanta.

Honors and awards: Criminal Justice Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation; New York News Publishers Association Award for Distinguished Investigative Reporting; Reporting contributed to Best of Gannett honor; Member of Table Stakes, a program funded by the Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund and managed by the American Press Institute to transform local news.