neighbor harassment Town of Oyster Bay

[gonenuts]

New York

Hey everyone, Sorry this is a bit long winded.

I have a question that has been beating me down for some time now. My husband and I moved into a nice rental with in the Town of Oyster Bay. We have been there for over 10 years now. We have been helpful, generally nice people. (not patting myself on the back, we have faults but for the most part try to be respectful.) We've helped just about everyone on the block at one time or another. (Including the person that brought this post to fruition) Our one our neighbors is just a mean, sneaky, nasty person. She has popped balls that accidentally found their way over the fence, threatened and slammed doors on my children and even tried to have my son arrested when one of the other kids egged her house, (my son was with his grandmother in another state at the time) She loves to punish us through the use of the town and the police department.

With out fail this year we celebrated my husband's and I 13th anniversary together. He pulled out the drum set and played about 4-5 songs, all relevant to our marriage. The fun ended at about 8:30, but our friends stayed till about 11:00 at night, with out fail 2 weeks to the T the town was banging on our door. We are now informed that we need a permit for the pool we have. (Im at fault and working on getting the proper paperwork while dealing with what must be the male version of my neighbor in the process) We have a BBQ, we see the town or police every year, multiple times with out fail! She doesn't even call in noise complaints its random stuff, like telling them I have unregistered vehicles, which I do not.

We are now on our 9th Town issue, (all thankfully unfounded just weeks long nuisance while they double & triple check everything) The pool went unnoticed since 2009. The pool company misinformed us when we installed it and now we found out we need the permit. No biggie, I'm not about breaking the law.

My question is, is there a way to find out who is constantly calling on us so I can file harassment charges? My son (9 years old) is at the point he's terrified that the town is now going to take his room away and what ever else he owns since we were threatened and screamed at by the town inspector to get the pool off the property or hes going after everyone.

What can I do at this point? Thank you all in advance!

 

[xylene]

Tell your son that he isn't going to lose his room because you have an illegal pool.

Without a permit you do actually have an illegal pool, and I'm not so sure you can get a retroactive permit.

You may want to see a lawyer about that.

 

[gonenuts]

Tell your son that he isn't going to lose his room because you have an illegal pool.

Without a permit you do actually have an illegal pool, and I'm not so sure you can get a retroactive permit.

You may want to see a lawyer about that.

I know I am in the wrong with the pool, that's not really my issue persay. I am working on getting all the paperwork set, all the other qualifications are met, fences, locks alarms ect.

It's the constant calling, harassing, constantly having the cops or town knocking on my door because we had friends over. Im not blasting music all hours of the night and even though the ordnance is 11 we usually turn the music down by 9 and off at 10 out of respect for all our neighbors. I'm tired of being bullied and stalked by a crazy person. The things she calls on is insane! Not even noise calls to the cops, she tells them I have unregistered vehicles, I'm renting out the upstairs (same 5 people have been in the house for years and on the lease) anything to try to get us in trouble, this is the first oversight on our part.

 

[quincy]

New York

Hey everyone, Sorry this is a bit long winded.

I have a question that has been beating me down for some time now. My husband and I moved into a nice rental with in the Town of Oyster Bay. We have been there for over 10 years now. We have been helpful, generally nice people. (not patting myself on the back, we have faults but for the most part try to be respectful.) We've helped just about everyone on the block at one time or another. (Including the person that brought this post to fruition) Our one our neighbors is just a mean, sneaky, nasty person. She has popped balls that accidentally found their way over the fence, threatened and slammed doors on my children and even tried to have my son arrested when one of the other kids egged her house, (my son was with his grandmother in another state at the time) She loves to punish us through the use of the town and the police department.

With out fail this year we celebrated my husband's and I 13th anniversary together. He pulled out the drum set and played about 4-5 songs, all relevant to our marriage. The fun ended at about 8:30, but our friends stayed till about 11:00 at night, with out fail 2 weeks to the T the town was banging on our door. We are now informed that we need a permit for the pool we have. (Im at fault and working on getting the proper paperwork while dealing with what must be the male version of my neighbor in the process) We have a BBQ, we see the town or police every year, multiple times with out fail! She doesn't even call in noise complaints its random stuff, like telling them I have unregistered vehicles, which I do not.

We are now on our 9th Town issue, (all thankfully unfounded just weeks long nuisance while they double & triple check everything) The pool went unnoticed since 2009. The pool company misinformed us when we installed it and now we found out we need the permit. No biggie, I'm not about breaking the law.

My question is, is there a way to find out who is constantly calling on us so I can file harassment charges? My son (9 years old) is at the point he's terrified that the town is now going to take his room away and what ever else he owns since we were threatened and screamed at by the town inspector to get the pool off the property or hes going after everyone.

What can I do at this point? Thank you all in advance!

First, your concerns have nothing to do with lawyer ethics or legal malpractice. I question your placement of your thread in this particular section of the forum.

It appears that your neighbor, as ornery a person as she may be, has had some legitimate complaints. It is always easier to claim harassment when you have done nothing to support the complaints made against you.

If the police are withholding the name or names of those who are making complaints, your options are limited. You would need to obtain a subpoena to compel production of the identity and I am not sure, based on what you have said, that a court will issue one.

If whoever it is who is complaining bothers you enough, you might want to consider renting a place elsewhere.

 

[xylene]

I honestly think you ought to focus on the pool because there is a real possible they WONT give you a retroactive permit and WILL require you to demo it and fine you, possibly severely.

 

[quincy]

I honestly think you ought to focus on the pool because there is a real possible they WONT give you a retroactive permit and WILL require you to demo it and fine you, possibly severely.

I agree that unless or until the violations are taken care of, there is little hope of supporting any sort of action against the one or ones doing the complaining.

We have had Oyster Bay threads before that have centered on code enforcement. They do not mess around with code violators there.

 

[CdwJava]

In general, reporting violations of the law (state statues, local ordinances, etc.) is going to be public record - assuming the caller left their name. Reports to the police or the city are almost always going to be considered a public record. While the city may not pony up the info easily, if you make the proper public records request they will have to either provide the info or articulate why it falls into an exception.

http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/access-public-records-new-york

http://www.dos.ny.gov/coog/foil2.html

http://www.nfoic.org/new-york-sample-foia-request

But, reports of such violations are likely also going to be protected from any retaliatory lawsuits. Unless you can PROVE that the calls were made with the caller knowing full well that they were false, and done with malicious intent (or whatever equivalent standard is required under NY law), you are not going to be able to successfully sue the caller(s). Being wrong is generally not going to be actionable.

If you have permit issues, get them resolved. If the pool issue cannot be resolved through the issuance of a retroactive permit and penalties, then you may have to take the pool out. I presume this is an above ground pool and not a built-in, since you are a renter.

Ultimately, if you do not like the neighbors or are having problems, you might decide it is better to move. It sucks that it has to be that way, but, you cannot generally force people to be nice.

 

[CdwJava]

We have had Oyster Bay threads before that have centered on code enforcement. They do not mess around with code violators there.

I was thinking the same thing. I recall a few on here and the other site down the road. Oyster Bay seems to have aggressive code enforcement folks.

 

[gonenuts]

First, your concerns have nothing to do with lawyer ethics or legal malpractice. I question your placement of your thread in this particular section of the forum.

It appears that your neighbor, as ornery a person as she may be, has had some legitimate complaints. It is always easier to claim harassment when you have done nothing to support the complaints made against you.

If the police are withholding the name or names of those who are making complaints, your options are limited. You would need to obtain a subpoena to compel production of the identity and I am not sure, based on what you have said, that a court will issue one.

If whoever it is who is complaining bothers you enough, you might want to consider renting a place elsewhere.

Sorry for the wrong placement of the thread. Thanks for your help.

 

[gonenuts]

I honestly think you ought to focus on the pool because there is a real possible they WONT give you a retroactive permit and WILL require you to demo it and fine you, possibly severely.

Please don't think I am not trying to fix the issue, I am in the process of finding a surveyor and getting the permit, that is underway and we have an agreement with the town to drain it and cover it until we get the proper paperwork. (I delt with a supervisor) It is by means no way being ignored, my question here was about the constant complaints, threats and harassment.

Look, Im not a jerk. Considering some of the neighbors parting all hours of the night we are peaches and cream. I've tried to talk to her, even shoveled her walkway for the last two years trying to show we aren't animals. If having friends over is a crime then I should be in jail.

Sadly I don't have 10,000$to put down for rent, brokers fees and security. So I'm not going anywhere. I just can't.

 

[Zigner]

There may not have been any more complaints by the neighbors...you are simply on the radar now.

 

[quincy]

I was thinking the same thing. I recall a few on here and the other site down the road. Oyster Bay seems to have aggressive code enforcement folks.

Yup. It did not seem to me to be an idyllic place to live.

I agree with your advice to file an FOI request but I am thinking that names might be redacted (or anonymous calls made). A reporter of a violation will rarely be held liable for reports made, even when the reports are found to be meritless.

 

[CdwJava]

Yup. It did not seem to me to be an idyllic place to live.

I agree with your advice to file an FOI request but I am thinking that names might be redacted (or anonymous calls made). A reporter of a violation will rarely be held liable for reports made, even when the reports are found to be meritless.

I have not looked up the FOIL in NY, but, if it is anything like most other states, the name is not confidential. I suspect that the name of the caller is also reportable. However, it might require legal action or the threat of legal action to pry that info loose from them if they want to play games. And since it is unlikely that any legal action can be taken against the reporting party, paying an attorney to pry the info out of the city would probably be a waste of money.

The best bet for the OP might be to rectify the pool permit situation, and reconsider those get together at their house for a while. At least the get togethers that go into the night.

 

[Zigner]

The following is, obviously, purely anecdotal:

I used to have a family member who was employed by our city's building & safety department. While driving around town for her day-to-day chores (groceries, outings, etc.), she would make notes about violations she observed. When she got back in to work, she would take whatever steps were necessary to make sure those violations were addressed...

 

[CdwJava]

The following is, obviously, purely anecdotal:

I used to have a family member who was employed by our city's building & safety department. While driving around town for her day-to-day chores (groceries, outings, etc.), she would make notes about violations she observed. When she got back in to work, she would take whatever steps were necessary to make sure those violations were addressed...

I've known officers that would do the same thing. It's amazing what you can see in your off time that does not leap out at you when you are otherwise engaged with work.