E. Hampton moves on Springs housing woes

For months, every time the East Hampton town board has met, a group of Springs residents has been there to complain that they have more overcrowded housing, absentee landlords and zoning violations than any other part of the town.

Now, a new report from the town's revamped ordinance enforcement department shows they are right.

The department issued 265 summonses in the first three months of the year, and more than half -- 136 -- were in the hamlet of Springs.

"I don't want to call it a crackdown. That's a short-term thing," said Patrick Gunn, an assistant town attorney and administrator of East Hampton's division of public safety. "It's a new strategy."

Because of serious budget problems -- the town is facing a $30-million deficit -- East Hampton has been cutting jobs and merging department functions. One result was the revamping of its code enforcement and public safety departments.

Gunn said that gave him the opportunity to change the way the town code is enforced.

"Before, we did things like improper pool fences . . . things that were easily observed from the road," he said. "Now we go into a house and inspect everything."

What they found in Springs were two dozen homes with scores of violations -- including one house whose owner received 77 separate summonses for infractions that ranged from inoperable smoke alarms to no separate entrances to basement apartments, illegal multifamily occupation, no rental permits and fire code violations.

Gunn said that about half the violations were in houses with absentee owners, while the others involved properties that were illegally subdivided with walls that failed to meet fire or other town codes.

It generally takes four to six months for those summonses to work their way through town justice court, Gunn said. He could not immediately give a breakdown of how many cases are still pending, or the resolution of settled cases.

Still, he noted, the town attorney's office has been a lot busier since the change in procedure.

Those pleading guilty must sign an agreement allowing the town to enter and inspect a house for a year after a settlement is reached.

David Buda, a founder of Springs Concerned Citizens, has been tracking court cases for six months and said the results are a mixed blessing.

"I'm encouraged by the large number of cases being brought, but I'm discouraged there are so many cases," he said.