[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Great
Neck as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted as Ch. 77 of the 1976 Code]
The Building Inspector, or such other official of the Village of Great
Neck as may be designated by the Board of Trustees, upon notification that
a building or structure, from any cause, may now be or shall become dangerous
or unsafe to the public, shall make inspection thereof and report his findings
concerning the same to the Board of Trustees of the Village of Great Neck.
If the Board of Trustees shall find that the said building or structure,
from any cause, may be or shall become dangerous or unsafe to the public,
it may make an order directing notice to be served on the owner or some one
of the owner's executors, legal representatives, agents or lessees or any
other person having a vested or contingent interest in the premises where
such building or structure is located, as shown by the records of the Receiver
of Taxes and/or in the office of the County Clerk or County Register.
Such notice shall contain a description of the premises, a statement
of the particulars in which the building or structure is unsafe or dangerous
and an order requiring the same to be made safe and secure or removed. The
said notice shall specify a reasonable time after the service thereof, within
which the person served with such notice may commence the securing or removal
of the buildings or structures, as specified in said notice. The notice shall
state that in the event that the building or other structure shall be reported
unsafe or dangerous under a survey to be made, as hereinafter provided, an
application will be made, at a special term of the Supreme Court in the judicial
district in which the property is located, for an order determining the building
or structure to be a public nuisance and directing that it be repaired and
secured or taken down and removed.
Such notice may be served either personally or by registered mail, addressed
to the last known address, if any, of the owner or some one of the owner's
executors, legal representatives, agents or lessees or other person having
a vested or contingent interest in the premises, as hereinbefore specified;
provided, however, that if such service be made by registered mail, a copy
thereof shall also be posted on the premises where the specified building
or structure is located.
In the event of the neglect or refusal of the person served with the
notice to comply with the same, the Board of Trustees shall cause a survey
to be made by an official of the Village and a practical builder, engineer
or architect to be named by the Board of Trustees and a practical builder,
engineer or architect appointed by the person served with the above notice.
In the event of the refusal or neglect of the person served with such notice
to appoint said practical builder, engineer or architect, the two surveyors
named by the Board of Trustees shall make the survey and report.
A signed copy of the report of the survey shall be posted on the building.
The compensation of the surveyors shall be determined by the Village
Board of Trustees and included in the cost and expense incurred by the Village
in connection with the proceedings taken hereunder. All costs and expenses
incurred by the Village of Great Neck in connection with the proceedings to
remove or secure an unsafe or collapsed building or structure, including the
cost of actually removing said building or structure, shall be assessed against
the land on which said buildings or structures are located. The amount of
such cost and expense shall be determined and audited by the Village Board
of Trustees and shall be reported to the Village Assessor of the Village of
Great Neck as an amount to be levied and assessed against the said premises
as an assessment for an improvement to be included in the next succeeding
assessment roll of the Village of Great Neck to be thereafter prepared.
[Adopted 9-6-1977 by L.L. No. 12-1977 (Ch.
78 of the 1976 Code)]
In any case where, in the opinion of the Building Inspector, there is
a clear and imminent danger to life or property due to an unsafe or hazardous
condition in or on a building, structure or property in the Village, he shall
immediately take such action as is necessary to safeguard such life and property.
In the performance of this duty, the Building Inspector may:
A.
Cause temporary repairs to be made, safeguards to be
installed and barriers to be erected.
B.
Order some or all of the occupants of the building, structure
or property where such unsafe or hazardous condition is found to exist to
vacate the same forthwith.
C.
Prohibit further occupancy of such building, structure
or property until the condition thereof is rendered safe for such occupancy.
D.
Temporarily close and cause to be vacated sidewalks,
streets, buildings, structures and properties which adjoin the building, structure
or property where the hazardous or unsafe condition is found to exist.
E.
Employ, on behalf of the Village, such labor, equipment
and material as may be necessary to achieve the foregoing.
Notice of the unsafe or hazardous condition and any action proposed
or taken with respect thereto shall, at the earliest opportunity, be given
by the Building Inspector to the last owner of record of the real property
involved. In any event, written notice of such condition, the action taken
or proposed and the estimated cost and expense to the Village shall be sent
by the Building Inspector to the last owner of record of said real property,
at the address given for said owner in the last deed of record in the Nassau
County Clerk's office, by certified mail, return receipt requested. Such notice
shall be sent not more than three business days after the Building Inspector
takes any action under this article.
Any and all cost and expense incurred by the Village in connection with
the proceedings set forth in this article shall be assessed against the real
property where the unsafe or hazardous condition is found to exist. The amount
of such cost and expense shall be audited by and the assessment determined
by the Board of Trustees. The assessment shall be reported to the Village
Treasurer as an amount to be levied and assessed against the said real property.
Said assessment shall be a lien and charge upon said real property on the
date fixed by the Board of Trustees; and, if not paid within 30 days after
the same is billed by the Treasurer, it shall be collected in the manner provided
by law for the collection of delinquent taxes. Ten days' written notice of
the date, time and place of the meeting at which the Board of Trustees shall
make such audit and determination shall be sent to the last owner of record
in the same manner as above provided for the Building Inspector's notice.
At said meeting, the owner shall be given an opportunity to be heard on the
necessity for and amount of the proposed assessment before the same is finally
determined.
