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[T] People v. Ventura5/6/2004
t the authority, if used at all, should be sparingly applied. If the Village wishes to ply such powers, then it must do even more than it already has to protect the tenants. Recognizing that part of the consequences of executing warrants will be the disruption and intimidation of tenants in their homes, the Village must do more to provide notice to owners and tenants of the alleged illegality and the probability of a search of the premises; they must enlist the support of other governments including the County and Town in an effort to find and build more affordable, alternative, legal housing and they should contact federal and state law enforcement agencies in order to make references to them on such matters.
The target of these references should not be the helpless poor forced to occupy these residences but rather the slumlords and absentee landlords who make an underground living on the backs of the poor. For starters, among the laws that might be looked to for enforcement are federal and state RICO statutes; money laundering and tax laws. Referrals to other prosecuting agencies of cases of this genre would do more to curtail the spread of illegal housing than actions of this kind which unfortunately have the quality of being almost a para-military initiative.
The reality of code enforcement today means that our building inspectors must of necessity become part-time social workers especially sensitive to the needs of tenants whom they may be constructively evicting or making homeless through their efforts. In short, the days of strict, blind code enforcement are long over. Building inspectors today must insure that the privacy and Fourth Amendment rights of tenants are not jeopardized and that alternative housing is made available. Building inspectors should also secure the assistance of Fire Marshalls and the Long Island Power Authority (hereinafter "LIPA") technicians to make regular inspections of premises and to report to municipalities on any fire, power, electrical or even plumbing violations that they may observe. These would be routine, consent searches and if not given access, LIPA might threaten to terminate electrical power to the residences. Such efforts require the cooperation of LIPA and a new function for them because heretofore, they have been uninvolved in code enforcement efforts. Today every code enforcement agency should have a comprehensive plan requiring cooperation with other municipalities and governments that will serve to alleviate overcrowding and provide decent, legal housing for the poor. The wealthy robber barons of the north shore's Gold Coast should open their eyes and wallets too. While they may live their lives untouched by the plight of the poor and the squalor in which they are forced to live, it is time that they became part of the solution instead of being part of the problem. Instead of being content with having their grounds nicely landscaped and paying cash to the day laborers working for them, they need to interdigitate with local governments in helping the poor through their businesses, trusts, foundations, and family fortunes to build affordable housing not just in communities like Westbury which does more than its fair share, but in their backyards where they live and work. The rich need to take off their blinders. Everyone who hires and pays day laborers is complicit in a vast pattern of criminal activity, if they do not invest themselves in developing a grand plan for a solution to this problem of finding legal employment and housing for the poor. Our County Executive could be the catalyst to bring all of these forces together to map out such a comprehensive plan. It is also long overdue for our United States Senators and those in Congress to look more
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