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Politics & Government

Illegal Housing, Crescent Beach Addressed at First Town Hall Meeting

Illegal housing and Crescent Beach were two of many topics discussed at the first Neighborhood Town Hall Meeting at Landing Elementary School Monday.

and officials from several city departments hosted the first of this year's series of at  Monday.

The annual meetings are an up-close-and-personal opportunity for residents to air their concerns as members of Glen Cove's various, distinct neighborhoods.

Monday's Town Hall played host to Area 1, or Landing area, residents. Question topics included: parking issues, illegal housing, , ,  and code enforcement.

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Illegal Housing

Resident Suzanne Anderson asked for details regarding the code enforcement function of the city.

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"When I arrived in office, we seperated the Building Department and code enforcement," responded Suozzi. "We're starting to move toward a more 'first responder' enforcement method, as our various departments go on thousands of calls a year. If they see an illegal situation, they report it, and we begin investigating."

Mayor Suozzi said that while the city has brought about fines as big as $19,000, the goal of the operation is compliance.

"We don't want to see children overcome by carbon monoxide, we don't want people sleeping next to boilers," said Suozzi. "These cases are very important to us, because if we know about a risky or illegal situation, and don't act, we'll have to live with that knowledge that we could've done something."

With Building Department Director Richard Summa in attendance, Suozzi reported that there were 191 housing complaints in Glen Cove, and ten warrants have been issued this year for violations.

Crescent Beach

Several residents were concerned about Crescent Beach: why it closed, and when it will be reopening.

"We found high levels of bacteria in June 2009, usually the numbers go down in the summer but they never did," said Suozzi. "We have identified the source, which is a septic system failure, and this is a multi-million dollar problem that will take years to fix."

Suozzi said he will be meeting with the new county health commissioner to address the situation.

Recreation

In response to a question on a poential skateboard park and dog run, Suozzi said that several pieces of land are being considered for the projects.

Upcoming Town Hall Meetings:


  • Wednesday, Oct. 5, 7 p.m. at (Seaman and Walnut Roads)

  • Wednesday, Oct. 12, 7 p.m. at (Ridge Drive)

  • Thursday, Oct. 20, 7 p.m. at (81 Sea Cliff Avenue)
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