Hampton Bays Citizens Group Targeting Another Illegally Converted Motel

After leaning on Southampton Town officials to close one motel and block another from becoming an apartment complex, a Hampton Bays community organization has picked its next target: the Bel-Aire Cove Motel.

The Concerned Citizens of Hampton Bays, or CCHB, notified the town earlier this month that the Shinnecock Road motel is not being used for its intended use, but rather as an apartment complex.

During the group’s most recent meeting, held last Thursday night in the Hampton Bays Fire Department substation on Ponquogue Avenue, the association’s president, Mike Dunn, said Bel-Aire Cove is the latest hurdle in his group’s quest to rid the hamlet of illegal rentals.

Mr. Dunn said the facility is being used as year-round housing for several families, including five children who now attend the Hampton Bays School District.

“Back in March of 2014, at that location, there was enforcement action done on the property,” Mr. Dunn said to the crowd of roughly 70 people who attended last week’s meeting. “There were 10 counts of infestation, roaches and bed bugs, the tenants claimed they had to keep their contents in plastic bags to prevent further infestation.

“This is the package of violations against the property,” Mr. Dunn continued, holding up a stack of paper more than an inch thick. “Other things from March of 2014: litter and debris overflowing on to the property, no building permits for structures built on the property, no smoke detectors, no carbon monoxide detectors.”

A follow-up investigation by the town last October found extension cords being used as permanent wiring, improper exhaust flow for a clothes dryer, as well as other fire hazards and improper egress in terms of exit doors that were sealed shut with spray foam, Mr. Dunn said.

The group’s vice president, Robert Liner, a real estate lawyer with more than 40 years’ experience, said if the town did not take action to address the issue by mid-May, the group would take matters into its own hands.

Mr. Liner explained that, under town law, a group of three or more neighbors can take legal action against a property owner if he or she is violating the Town Code, if the neighbors report the violation to the town and no action is taken within 10 days.

“We have no choice,” he said. “If the town doesn’t do it and there’s a legal means for us to address the issue, we feel obligated to follow through with it. What are we supposed to do?”

Southampton Town Attorney Tiffany Scarlato said the owners of Bel-Aire Cove, Konstantine Polumentis and Jagganath Jayswal, who hold the property under a company called Bell Aire Cove Resorts, Inc., are currently facing various charges in Town Justice Court, including illegal change of use, overcrowding, renting without permits, improper electric and not having smoke or carbon monoxide detectors, with multiple counts of each violation.

Ms. Scarlato did not respond to an email asking where the owners live.

No fines have been assessed to the owners, Ms. Scarlato said, adding that the town, in some instances, prefers to keep property owners in court until they address all their code violations, rather than simply fining them and sending them on their way.

Mr. Liner said, depending on what specific action the town is taking in court, his group’s demands may have been satisfied, but he’s waiting on Ms. Scarlato’s office to communicate with the attorneys representing the civic group before making that determination. In essence, he’s looking for the town to address the root issue of the motel being used as an apartment complex.

“If they’re in Justice Court for a smoke detector violation, that’s good and healthy for the people [who live there], but doing nothing to address the real issue, which is misuse of the facility,” Mr. Liner said.

Entering its third year, the civic group also pressured the town to shut down the illegal rentals at the Hidden Cove Motel on West Tiana Road, first when it was being used as a homeless shelter and later when it was being utilized as an illegal apartment complex. Ultimately, the town purchased the bayside complex last fall for $2.3 million, using money from its Community Preservation Fund program. The town currently is seeking bids for the demolition of the two-story motel so the property can revert to open space.

Mr. Liner and Mr. Dunn also spent 17 months, and $34,000 in legal fees, to challenge the owners of the Tiana Pines Garden Apartments in front of the Town Zoning Board of Appeals. The owners of that property were seeking to have their code of occupancy changed to legally operate as an apartment complex.

Although the Zoning Board ultimately ruled against Tiana Pines, the owners are challenging that decision in State Supreme Court, meaning all action against the property is held in limbo until a decision is reached. The 16-room motel is owned by Domenico and Vincenza Iadevaia of Carle Place, according to town records.

“The Zoning Board, in taking [its] time, being very thorough, made a well-founded decision based on all the facts at the time, which, in my opinion, is neither arbitrary nor capricious,” Mr. Liner said. “So, I believe the ruling will stand.”