Brookhaven town lost my blueprints. (Mastic, Mastic Beach: renting, attorney, house)

[minesbroken]

I just bought a house in the Mastic Beach area about six blocks from the ocean. My house was built in 1972. I went to Brookhaven town hall and asked them for the Original blueprints for the house and they told me I had to fill out a form "Freedom of information act" and then wait 20 days, I did so. Now I call them up and they tell me that nobody can find my blueprints and that my house is too old. I got blueprints for my fathers house in Northport that was built in 1868... What gives? Arent they supposed to have all that?

I'm alittle confused

[longislandmike]

Did you try Suffolk County Clerks Office, for these records ?

I'm not surprised that a Town employee would NOT offer you this suggestion.

We are talking about people who asked me, how to spell "11"..."e-l-e-v-e-n"... for a telephone complaint once. Yes, it happened.

There was a fire that destroyed Town of Brookhaven records, some years ago. Unfortunately, I don't have the exact date it happened.

This was very fortuitous of it, for me, in the instance of my dealing with the Town.

We live at the end of a paper street. The actual asphalt, had to be "put down", at our expense at the time, the house was built. Then, technically, we had to "turn over" the street, BACK, to the Town...as it was a "paper street" of the Town.

However, when we requested that traffic restrictions be placed on the street, the Town was a little flumoxed about it. The Town, apparently, had NO public records, of it's own, to prove that the street was actually "turned over" to them.

Since we had the payment and construction records that "we" built the street at our own expense,
I simply made a written declaration to the Town Attorney's Office, that the street was "OURS"...we owned, what was formerly, the Town street. They "threw" all sorts of obscure, NY State Law at us, but my attorney and myself, just laughed at their problem, because it was a very specious, entirely theoretical, legal argument, based on NO documentary evidence, of their own.

You can imagine how they felt about that.

I happily offered them an exit strategy.

We got what we wanted, VERY easily.

I offer you this, showing that you can, probably, use this instance for YOUR advantage. Get an attorney to sign off on this, but like everything, why should YOU pay for "their" mistake ?

[longislandmike]

Another suggestion...try the Title Company, and or the attorney you used, or was used ?

This information "may" be in the Assessment Office records for the property.

When you call them up, ask who was the previous owner...they may have this information OR a copy of blueprints.

[minesbroken]

I'm going to have to give that a try. Thanks for the info. I will post again when I have more. previous owner didn't have anything. Husband owned the house and was renting it, He died and she sold the house.

[longislandmike]

Originally Posted by minesbroken

I'm going to have to give that a try. Thanks for the info. I will post again when I have more. previous owner didn't have anything. Husband owned the house and was renting it, He died and she sold the house.

Find out who the Builder was, too !

It may be on the Assessment Department documentation, somewhere, and the title company.