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Old 03-20-2013, 11:16 AM
 
Location: Nassau, Long Island, NY
16,408 posts, read 33,208,465 times
Reputation: 7338

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Quote:
Originally Posted by twingles View Post
I get what you are saying now - people are basically unloading these houses due to the tax burden and the takers are future slumlords. Well, it is unfortunate that no one is stepping in to put the kibosh on that, but like you said if someone is fleeing high taxes they aren't really gonna worry about what their buyer's plan is.
This is a serious problem and one I've been noticing/wondering about happening in places on LI.

The situtation is, all we, the resident taxpayers of LI have left is the QOL of our neighborhoods.

Our money is taken disproportionately by the taxing authorities who use such money to disproportunately pay, benefit and pension their civil service union employees.

They want the tax money and many of them DON'T CARE who they get it from: single-family homeowner of non-overcrowded home OR slumlord of overcrowded firetrap of an illegal boardinghouse.

That is where the residents must step in. For crying out loud, people are protesting and stamping out cell phone towers and White Castle hamburger places and brand new arena complexes. Yet many are dumbstruck when businesspeople/landlords turn homes in their neighborhood into personal money making machines. I say if the landlords want to buy a single-family house, they should rent it as such, rather than taking advantage of the community by shoving in as many unrelated people as possible. This goes for students. This goes for day laborers. This goes for all prospective tenants. "Renting rooms" is meant to be a homeowner who LIVES IN THE HOME and allows a student or two to board there, NOT what these landlords at Stony Brook have constructed and which results in a lowering of the quality of life for the orginal single-family home residents in terms of more use of resources, more garbage, more noise, more traffic, more parked cars, higher potential for house fires, etc. Why should some shady landlord be allowed to RUIN YOUR community? He WILL if you don't personally step in.

If I see ANYTHING where I live that indicates illegal tenants, I will call the Village and complain. If I saw a freakin' BOARDINGHOUSE filled to the brim, you bet there would be a problem. And not just from me, from my neighbors. We are known for fighting for QOL around here, and fortunately the rep keeps the prospective slumlords away ... even in the unincorporated areas. They know it will be just too much trouble and easier to go elsewhere.

People, fight for your quality of life in your neighborhood! Nobody else will and that's how you go down the path to become like other areas of LI who are hopelessly filled with flophouses. Don't make the mistake of thinking your area is too "swanky" for that to happen to, because they will sneak in a flophouse here and there right under your noses if you are not paying attention, and likewise don't make the mistake of thinking your area is too humble to protect and decline is "inevitable" because "after all it's a college town." Nonsense!

It is perfectly possible to provide student housing WITHOUT absentee landlords chopping up single-family homes into possibly overcrowded firetraps. Wanna run a rooming house? Do it right. Pay full freight commercial real estate taxes. Have the home live up to strict standards and supervise your occupants, perhaps with a live-in supervisor. Wanna do it on the cheap? Then let a few students (1-2) live with you in your house. That's the only option for the cheap way. Fortune hunting slumlords, sorry, look elsewhere, preferably off LI.

Slumlords do not have a right to make money ON OUR QOL.

Besides the "unrelated people living in a house rules" there should be strict FIRE CODES regulating access/egress and limiting how many people can live in the size/bedrooms/bathrooms of a home. That is another tool people should look into, and if the regulations are not strict enough, demand they be changed. It's your neighborhood to save.
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Old 03-20-2013, 11:46 AM
 
Location: Stony Brook
2,897 posts, read 4,385,765 times
Reputation: 2752
Quote:
Originally Posted by I_Love_LIwhat the 53687
This is a serious problem and one I've been noticing/wondering about happening in places on LI.

The situtation is, all we, the resident taxpayers of LI have left is the QOL of our neighborhoods.

Our money is taken disproportionately by the taxing authorities who use such money to disproportunately pay, benefit and pension their civil service union employees.

They want the tax money and many of them DON'T CARE who they get it from: single-family homeowner of non-overcrowded home OR slumlord of overcrowded firetrap of an illegal boardinghouse.

That is where the residents must step in. For crying out loud, people are protesting and stamping out cell phone towers and White Castle hamburger places and brand new arena complexes. Yet many are dumbstruck when businesspeople/landlords turn homes in their neighborhood into personal money making machines. I say if the landlords want to buy a single-family house, they should rent it as such, rather than taking advantage of the community by shoving in as many unrelated people as possible. This goes for students. This goes for day laborers. This goes for all prospective tenants. "Renting rooms" is meant to be a homeowner who LIVES IN THE HOME and allows a student or two to board there, NOT what these landlords at Stony Brook have constructed and which results in a lowering of the quality of life for the orginal single-family home residents in terms of more use of resources, more garbage, more noise, more traffic, more parked cars, higher potential for house fires, etc. Why should some shady landlord be allowed to RUIN YOUR community? He WILL if you don't personally step in.

If I see ANYTHING where I live that indicates illegal tenants, I will call the Village and complain. If I saw a freakin' BOARDINGHOUSE filled to the brim, you bet there would be a problem. And not just from me, from my neighbors. We are known for fighting for QOL around here, and fortunately the rep keeps the prospective slumlords away ... even in the unincorporated areas. They know it will be just too much trouble and easier to go elsewhere.

People, fight for your quality of life in your neighborhood! Nobody else will and that's how you go down the path to become like other areas of LI who are hopelessly filled with flophouses. Don't make the mistake of thinking your area is too "swanky" for that to happen to, because they will sneak in a flophouse here and there right under your noses if you are not paying attention, and likewise don't make the mistake of thinking your area is too humble to protect and decline is "inevitable" because "after all it's a college town." Nonsense!

It is perfectly possible to provide student housing WITHOUT absentee landlords chopping up single-family homes into possibly overcrowded firetraps. Wanna run a rooming house? Do it right. Pay full freight commercial real estate taxes. Have the home live up to strict standards and supervise your occupants, perhaps with a live-in supervisor. Wanna do it on the cheap? Then let a few students (1-2) live with you in your house. That's the only option for the cheap way. Fortune hunting slumlords, sorry, look elsewhere, preferably off LI.

Slumlords do not have a right to make money ON OUR QOL.

Besides the "unrelated people living in a house rules" there should be strict FIRE CODES regulating access/egress and limiting how many people can live in the size/bedrooms/bathrooms of a home. That is another tool people should look into, and if the regulations are not strict enough, demand they be changed. It's your neighborhood to save.
This is EXACTLY what the protest was about...I will personally protest EVERY boarding house in my neighborhood, and call the town EVERY day. It OUR neighborhood! WE let what happens to it, bad or good.
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Old 03-20-2013, 02:30 PM
 
Location: Inis Fada
16,966 posts, read 34,595,044 times
Reputation: 7722
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crookhaven View Post
M section began to slide years ago OBH.

All I'm suggesting is that when we lived there, we accepted we were living in the shadow of USB( being a College town and all).

There were always rentals in Strathmore and UH.You know that

Crooks


Many -- if not all -- people accept that we have a university within our midst -- especially since a fair portion of residents are employed by this entity, or have a family member who is.

The fact remains that the number of rentals has increased significantly over the past 3 decades since I first set foot on campus. Well kept rentals are not the issue. What you are either overlooking or avoiding is that there are many more rentals which are 1) poorly maintained; 2) overcrowded; 3) belong to absentee landlords with no interest in the community other than to make money.

If several rental party houses found their way into your neighborhood, I bet you would be on the phone with the town ASAP.
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Old 03-20-2013, 02:40 PM
 
Location: Nassau, Long Island, NY
16,408 posts, read 33,208,465 times
Reputation: 7338
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhBeeHave View Post
Many -- if not all -- people accept that we have a university within our midst -- especially since a fair portion of residents are employed by this entity, or have a family member who is.

The fact remains that the number of rentals has increased significantly over the past 3 decades since I first set foot on campus. Well kept rentals are not the issue. What you are either overlooking or avoiding is that there are many more rentals which are 1) poorly maintained; 2) overcrowded; 3) belong to absentee landlords with no interest in the community other than to make money.

If several rental party houses found their way into your neighborhood, I bet you would be on the phone with the town ASAP.
Are you sure, OBH?

Or is it just that the people are a bunch of old meanies who hate kids?
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Old 03-20-2013, 02:46 PM
 
Location: Inis Fada
16,966 posts, read 34,595,044 times
Reputation: 7722
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crookhaven View Post
I said I was kind of kidding but I also kinda wasn't.


You know the story.


Crooks
No, please spell it out. In terms of diversity, 3V has people of all different races, ethnicities and religions. What's the story you're suggesting?
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Old 03-20-2013, 02:56 PM
 
7,658 posts, read 19,116,635 times
Reputation: 1325
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhBeeHave View Post
No, please spell it out. In terms of diversity, 3V has people of all different races, ethnicities and religions. What's the story you're suggesting?
I clarified elsewhere OBH.We agree.
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Old 03-20-2013, 03:07 PM
 
Location: Inis Fada
16,966 posts, read 34,595,044 times
Reputation: 7722
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crookhaven View Post
BS card thrown. It's been a College town for many years.
The Levitts were built with SUSB.

As for the workforce maybe they're leaving to raise their kids in St James or Mt Sinai/Miller Place and such?

I don't know what the answer is. Maybe the difference is that they're more absentee now then in my day. I stand by my statesment on the Taxes and the open market.It saddens me that the old neighborhood is being slummed out, but I'm not at all surprised. Maybe USB should buy up UH/M along SB road and convert it to off campus housing?


Crooks
It has been a town with a college, which is different from a college town. What actual college town amenities does Stony Brook boast? Many students are too young to drink. Stony Books and Corner Book Store are long gone having succumbed to online and on campus book stores. The Village is too high end for their meager wallets, and everything else requires them hopping a bus to get to.

There are still plenty of SBU employees all over the 11790 -- from security up to administration, as well as all levels of HSC workers.

Yes, there are far more absentee landlords and that is where the biggest problem lies. It's one thing when someone creates a space in their home and takes in a student tenant. The homeowner is not going to allow their home to go to shambles, won't tolerate noise, won't allow garbage to be strewn about. Some absentee landlords are good -- I am not panning all of them, but many just don't care. Absentee landlords create problems in many communities - -this isn't just a 3V problem. Taxes are a problem all over, too.

The answer is that the town has to step in and enforce the code. If someone wants to create a rooming house, it should be in compliance with the building code and DOH codes, should be renewed every 6-12 months, and be subject to spot inspection. Fines need to be increased -- all too often a landlord might be slapped with a $1K fine -- which is a pittance when one takes into account just how much they are making off their rental. Many of the protesters wouldn't be out there if the town was doing it's job.

SBU needs to stop taking a hands-off approach where off campus housing is concerned. If SBU allows listings for OCH on its website, it should take responsibility for the issues OCH creates. Calls from concerned neighbors shouldn't fall on deaf ears. SBU has been known to be a bad neighbor; this is an opportunity for it to work with the community and garner some attaboys for a change.

Honestly, I've thought that if anything were to happen, it would be SBU taking homes by ED from either the H section or Long Hill. They border the university and have no major roads between them and SBU. Long Hill would make the perfect connection between the Gyrodyne property and the main campus. It's a large area and makes perfect sense for more UG dorms and Grad apartments.

But you didn't hear that from me.
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Old 03-20-2013, 03:20 PM
 
Location: Inis Fada
16,966 posts, read 34,595,044 times
Reputation: 7722
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quick Commenter View Post
Greedy absentee landlords may not be related to a tax issue or a race issue (not everything is).
Thank you! I don't care what color the landlord or students are. I care about the noise, garbage, speeding cars -- QOL issues.

Quote:
Unrelated, but has anyone else noticed SBUs reputation seems to be recently growing by leaps and bounds in comparison to the other SUNYs and in comparison to other public and private universities? That might result in more students from beyond commuting distance enrolling at SBU and looking for nearby housing. Or it might not.
SBU is experiencing an increased volume in applications, and it would appear that admissions is accepting more students. There has been a significant increase in the volume of housing on campus, but some students prefer living off campus for whatever reason -- privacy, prefer to not deal with dorm rules, cultural differences -- you name it.

I live near the 150 Christian boarding house. It is a huge house which is rented out by members of one of the school's teams. There is another house closer to me which I mentioned in an earlier post -- bunch of guys who want to be 'in the real world' -- only problem is they are thinking in terms of MTV Real World. Another block over is a home which was bought by an Asian man. He cleaned it up, has some permits on it (not a rental one, though) and rents it to about 5-6 Asian students. The house is neat, there are maybe 3 cars tops, never any garbage in the yard. It's not the prettiest house, but then again, it's not a slumlord's boarding house. I have no issue with this owner except for the fact he needs a rental permit.
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Old 03-20-2013, 03:25 PM
 
Location: Inis Fada
16,966 posts, read 34,595,044 times
Reputation: 7722
Quote:
Originally Posted by twingles View Post
I get what you are saying now - people are basically unloading these houses due to the tax burden and the takers are future slumlords. Well, it is unfortunate that no one is stepping in to put the kibosh on that, but like you said if someone is fleeing high taxes they aren't really gonna worry about what their buyer's plan is.
I don't know if I would use the word unloading -- no fire sales (so-to-speak) to be had. Taxes are a tough nut, but then again, taxes in the M section are no different than a person would be paying in Levittown. True, however, is the point that someone moving out is not concerned with what the next guy has planned. But doesn't that apply to almost everywhere? We sell, take the money, and move on.

SBU's proximity is making these even more desirable to potential slumlords. Given the number of kids they can potentially rent to, they can make up the taxes and break even in a very short period of time.
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Old 03-20-2013, 03:27 PM
 
Location: Inis Fada
16,966 posts, read 34,595,044 times
Reputation: 7722
Quote:
Originally Posted by suzook View Post
Agree about the tax burden...and yea, the idiots voting yes to all the increases act like they are from old field. I moved to alphabet section because I didn't want to live with the "snobs" north of 25. I'm a blue collar guy, along with most of my neighbors...and we love it here. Rentals are fine with us, as long as its legit, legal, and safe.

Ironically, the school which tends to have the most 'NO' budget votes is Setauket -- where Old Field sends their kiddies.

PS: Who you calling a snob? LOL
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