Brookhaven officials: Owners of house where college students stayed, fire broke out face jail, hefty fines

The owners of a Stony Brook house occupied by at least a dozen university students face hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of fines and possible jail time following a July 2 fire that severely damaged the residence, Brookhaven Town officials said Wednesday.

The house, at 19 Salem Dr., was operating as an illegal rooming house and lacked building permits, certificates of occupancy and smoke detectors when a fire broke out at 4:19 a.m., town officials said at a news conference at Town Hall in Farmingville.

No residents were injured, and the cause of the fire was "undetermined," officials said.

Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico called the house a "potential death trap," describing electrical cooking devices such as microwave ovens and hot plates in nearly every room.

Four bedrooms had been converted into 10 living spaces, town officials said, adding that 18 mattresses were found in the house. Residents appeared to be living in the attic and basement, officials said.

"This particular house was bursting at the seams with Stony Brook [University] students," Panico told reporters.

Town Councilman Neil Foley said the fire could have been worse.

"We were very lucky this time that no one lost their life," he said. 

Town property records show the owners are Juan Lin and Xingtao Liu.

Online court records show Lin and Liu are scheduled to appear Thursday in Sixth District Court in Patchogue, where they will be arraigned on dozens of charges. Town officials said the owners, whom they did not identify, are married.

Reached by phone, a person who identified himself as one of the owners said he could not discuss the allegations. He declined to identify his attorney.

Attorney information for Lin wasn't listed in online court records.

The owners each face 30 counts of charges including lack of building and rental permits, failure to install smoke detectors and operating an illegal boardinghouse, according to town officials and online court records.

The owners face maximum fines ranging from $180,000 to $256,000, town officials said. Each also faces up to 90 days in Suffolk County jail, officials said.

The house has been condemned, town officials said.

Brookhaven Chief Fire Marshal Chris Mehrman said the Stony Brook area is "inundated" with illegal housing, some of it occupied by college students.

"The conditions they are being put in are less than stellar," he said.

Stony Brook University previously has faced complaints from area residents about students renting off-campus housing in nearby neighborhoods. University officials have said they are building more on-campus housing.

In a statement Wednesday, the university said it was "aware of the town's concerns" about the Salem Drive property.

"The University provides guidance and resources to help students identify safe, legal housing and encourages them to use our Off-Campus Living services when searching for rentals," the school said, adding it would "continue to support any students who may have been affected."

Panico said he spoke to university officials Tuesday and implored them to provide more dorm rooms. 

"There is a great need for student housing on campus," he said. "They clearly have the land to do it."