May Newsletter Released

Code Compliance Feature: Brookhaven instigates online Vacant Property Registration (VPR)

Brookhaven, NY: No community is improved by run-down homes or buildings in need of basic touchups to lawns, siding repairs, or window replacement, or other structural problems that create health and safety hazards.

So it is all the more frustrating for citizens to see homes in their neighborhood, or even family and friend's neighborhoods, in states of continued dilapidation, keeping those structures from positive attention on the market.

To assist beautification and reclamation efforts of an estimated 3,000 vacant homes, the town of Brookhaven, NY, has had an app created to allow citizens to report suspected vacant properties.

The app is available at the Town of Brookhaven's website - www.brookhaven.org/vacanthouse – and can be downloaded to a mobile phone; citizens can also call in to report a suspected structure.

The instigation of the mobile app is the city's latest effort to deal with eyesores in the town, following legislation unanimously approved in December 2013 making it mandatory for all owners of vacant property to register and provide a local point of contact for the entity in charge of maintenance.

Any owner of a home that has been vacant for more than 120 consecutive days must report to the town clerk and is assessed a $250 registration fee, with the fee increasing each year the property remains vacant.

Non-registration within 30 days of triggering the vacancy requirement faces a $1,000 to $15,000 fine depending on situation.

Edward P. Romaine, town supervisor, said, "The mobile apps will allow people who are directly affected by these buildings to report these buildings to the law department."

The app allows users to enter an address in a search box that then zooms in on a map of the city to verify the property. A pop-up window then has the user click to "Add to Vacant Property Registration," then verify all information entered and submit the form. The app will allow investigators to track down owners of abandoned properties through use of real estate and tax records.

Pew Research Center's "Mobile Technology Fact Sheet" shows that as of January 2014, 58 percent of adults in the United States own smartphones, with 42 percent owning a tablet computer. Those mobile technologies make such apps another option for governments to connect with their citizens to address blighted property challenges facing communities; technologically-driven options likely to spread to other areas of the country as mobile communication becomes more the norm for citizens.

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