By Chris Fuchs
A spokesman for the state attorney general’s office said last week his office will appeal a federal judge’s ruling in early July that overturned a law preventing real-estate agents from soliciting homeowners in New York state — a problem that plagued Queens before the statute was enacted 12 years ago.
The statute, known as the cease-and-desist law, prohibits real-estate agents and salesmen from phoning homeowners who sign up with the state to bar unwanted solicitations. The entire borough of Queens is protected by this statute, Borough President Claire Shulman said.
But on July 2, Judge Thomas Platt of the Eastern District of New York ruled that the law, enacted in 1989, was unconstitutional, prompting the Queens borough president to write a letter to Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, asking him to appeal the ruling. Brad Maione, a spokesman for Spitzer, said the attorney general planned to file an appeal.
“We’re gratified that they are appealing,” said Dan Andrews, a spokesman for Shulman. “This is very important to Queens. It protects homeowners from unscrupulous practices. We would really like this to be overturned.”
In her letter, the borough president said homeowners, especially in Queens, can easily fall prey to unscrupulous real-estate agency since many of the houses are one-, two- or three-family. Maione could not confirm whether his office had received the correspondence.
“In the past, these brokers have suggested to owners that zoning, which allows denser development, poses a danger to property value,” Shulman wrote. “They have also exploited the housing shortage by telling prospective sellers that illegally subdivided homes will lower property values.”
Maione said the judge’s decision was probably the result of a ruling on a court case filed by real-estate agents challenging the constitutionality of the cease-and-desist law. The attorney general’s appeal will be heard next by the appellate division, he said.
Reach reporter Chris Fuchs by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 156.
