Neighbor says, 'We should not have to live like this,' of animals on attorney's unpermitted Lake Ronkonkoma property

For James Ramsden and his family, life in their picturesque home in Lake Ronkonkoma has literally become a zoo — one in which emus, cows, goats and alpacas are now a fact of daily living.

His Smith Road neighbor — Manhattan personal injury attorney William Schwitzer — has, for years, operated an unpermitted game farm on a 3.1-acre property abutting Ramsden's backyard, even after receiving multiple fines from the Town of Brookhaven, records show.

Ramsden, 46, a married father of three and an officer in the U.S. Merchant Marine, said the animals have become a constant nuisance and source of frustration. They include:

• Goats and chickens that have sneaked out from under Schwitzer's fence and torn up his garden
• Giant cows and emus that sidle up to his property line without warning
• Massive manure runoffs that seep onto his land during storms
• And an odor from Schwitzer's 40-foot uncovered dumpster, used for hay and manure, that becomes virtually unbearable in the summer months

'Shouldn't have to live like this'

"We cannot eat a single meal in the summertime without being inundated by flies," Ramsden, whose family has owned the home since 1979, told Newsday on Tuesday. "It's just unbearable. The last few years, we've been getting rats coming over. My children wake up to find a dead rat in the pool. We shouldn't have to live like this."

Ramsden said he wants the Town of Brookhaven to bring the property up to code, with proper fencing, safe storage of the animals and proper maintenance of the manure.

"For 30 years, he's built anything he wanted to build with no permits, and he has harbored any animal that he wants," Ramsden said. ... "We just want it brought up to the proper code and done the right way."

Schwitzer, who recently deeded the property to his children, David and Alexa Schwitzer, is now asking the town to approve an application that would allow him to legally keep 20 chickens, eight goats, six sheep, two emus and one alpaca.

Newsday observed many of those animals on Schwitzer's property during a visit to the site Tuesday.

The Brookhaven application also seeks variances to legalize a 21-foot barn — built 3 feet higher than the permitted allowance — and for several rabbit hutches.

Larry Davis, a Patchogue attorney representing Schwitzer, declined to comment on Ramsden's complaints, which he attributed to "one unhappy neighbor."

"The rest of the neighbors seem to very much enjoy having the animals there," Davis said.

Neighbors disagree

The town first heard Schwitzer's application during an Sept. 19 hearing in which both Ramsden and another neighbor, Gina Oliva, testified about the animals.

Ramsden said Schwitzer has, at times, kept three to four times more animals on the property than he's currently seeking from the town. They've included four cows — among them an American Brahman and an African Watusi — along with llamas and even a buffalo.

Oliva, however, testified she had no concerns about the animals.

"I think everything is beautiful. It's well maintained," Oliva said. "I don't have any issues with any odor, any noises or occasional sounds."

The board was originally scheduled to decide on Schwitzer's application Wednesday but the hearing was postponed until Oct. 22 to allow for a town inspection.

Experts said the animals don't belong in the town.

"These are farm exotic animals that don't belong in suburbia," said John Di Leonardo, an anthrozoologist and executive director of Humane Long Island. "These are animals that have special needs and need a large portion of land. They're not appropriate to be kept in the Town of Brookhaven."

There are no allegations that the animals under Schwitzer's care have been neglected. 

 But, in recent months, Brookhaven has found itself at the center of multiple scandals involving animal mistreatment.

In February, Double D Bar Ranch Inc., an animal sanctuary in Manorville, was charged with 112 counts of animal neglect, with prosecutors alleging it failed to provide food, water, shelter and medical care to animals in their care.

Last month, officials announced the Brookhaven Town zoo in Holtsville will gradually close, with its occupants relocated to sanctuaries, following complaints from former employees that animals were mistreated and housed in filthy conditions. 

Fines, fatal accident

In 2023, Brookhaven fined Schwitzer for the non-permitted animals and for illegal structures, according to town spokesman Drew Scott. 

Records show Schwitzer pleaded guilty to the violations in July 2024 and paid an undisclosed fine. But when he failed to return to the zoning board to legalize the farm, the town hit him with $3,500 in additional fines that were paid last October, records show.

This is not the first time Schwitzer has faced serious allegations related to his Smith Road home.

In 2012, Schwitzer and his wife, Wendy, were sued in a wrongful-death lawsuit after a worker on the property, Miguel Umanzor, who had been hired to paint the roof of the Lake Ronkonkoma barn, fell to his death in 2009, records show. The case was dismissed, as the lawsuit had been  filed beyond the statute of limitations.

 Schwitzer, whose primary residence is in Jericho, was raised by two Holocaust survivors surrounded by animals on his family’s 700-acre kosher cattle farm in Connecticut, according to online records.

The Schwitzers also operate Over the Top Stables, a horse jumping farm based in Brewster, although the business is registered at the Lake Ronkonkoma address, records show. 

He currently operates William Schwitzer and Associates, a law firm representing individuals involved in construction site accidents and motor vehicle crashes.

The firm, and Schwitzer personally, have been named in multiple recent lawsuits alleging they directed individuals, commonly known as runners, to recruit construction workers to stage accidents at various locations across the region and to claim a host of injuries.

Schwitzer has also been sued related to his representation of Dr. Alexios Apazidis, a Deer Park orthopedic spinal surgeon accused of copying and pasting dozens of operative reports verbatim for a range of patients involved in home, workplace and car accidents.

Schwitzer's attorneys have denied the allegations and said the suits were filed by "insurance companies that are abusing the Civil RICO statute in order to avoid financial responsibility for claims they are required to pay."