Oyster Bay begins crackdown on unlicensed landscapers

The Town of Oyster Bay has started a crackdown on unlicensed landscapers, Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino announced.

The town code generally requires landscapers who perform work for multiple property owners or have employees obtain a license from the town clerk’s office.

“If you’re operating an illegal landscaping company in the Town of Oyster Bay, we are clamping down,” Saladino said at a news conference in Syosset on May 30.

Saladino said that the town issued more than 100 notices of violation and 11 criminal court appearance tickets to unlicensed landscapers in the preceding two weeks. Enforcement is being undertaken through the town’s department of public safety, sanitation inspectors and code enforcement officers. Penalties for violations can include fines of $100 or more and up to 15 days in jail, according to the town code.

A new landscaper’s license costs $75 and includes a one-time $25 filing fee. Oyster Bay has currently issued 515 landscaping licenses, town spokesman Brian Nevin said. Last year the town received 12 complaints about unlicensed landscapers, Nevin said in an email.