The Departments of Sanitation and Health, Community Board 10, 106th Precinct, the FBI, 3-1-1 and various other agencies were contacted, but only the Attorney General’s office took action.
After The Courier ran a front-page story on the dozens of black trash bags, most filled with boxes of files of personal, confidential information, a phone call to AG Andrew Cuomo’s office netted results – in under an hour.
On Friday, July 23, The Courier was on scene as an investigator recovered some of the files – some of which include Social Security numbers, W-2 forms, 401K documents, employment history, full credit histories, even addresses and cell phone numbers.
He was shocked by how many bags were just sitting – in the open – behind the Better Homes Depot, located at 106-10 Rockaway Boulevard in Ozone Park.
The company was ordered to pay out more than $600,000 in consumer restitution and fines by the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) for allegedly misleading many first-time homebuyers and engaging in deceptive trade practices. Spurred by a pattern of complaints and an undercover investigation, DCA filed suit against Better Homes Depot in July 1999 charging that the company violated the New York City Consumer Protection Law and other related laws by misleading homebuyers throughout the purchasing process.
Typically, according to the DCA, Better Homes Depot purchased properties in foreclosure, commonly one- and two-family homes, and advertised “No Closing Costs” to generate interest. Once a contract was negotiated, Better Homes arranged financing through Madison Home Equities, a New York State mortgage bank authorized to deal with government insured loans through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development/Federal Housing Administration (HUD/FHA).
When they closed up shop about a year ago, Joanne Uhl, a neighbor, said they cleaned out the storefront – and deposited the trash bags in the ungated, unlocked, open alleyway, completely accessible 24-hours-a-day.
After multiple phone calls, the Department of Sanitation issued a “Dirty Area” summons on Wednesday, July 21 – a $100 fine – but told The Courier that they couldn’t remove the bags, as they were on private property.
Similarly, the Health Department said they received a complaint about the property and inspected on May 28. They found “harborage conditions and garbage at this location,” and a Notice of Violation was issued to the property owner, identified by the Department of Finance as Eric Fessler as of 2007. Phone numbers for Fessler were out of service.
According to the New York General Business Law Section 399H, records should be shredded before disposal or personal identifying information should either be destroyed or modified to make it unreadable.
Currently, according to the AG’s office, the recovered documents are under review.
