Homeowners Joseph and Gloria Campisi got multiple violations, and even an order to appear in court, though they had done nothing wrong.
The Howard Beach couple, he a deacon at St. Virgilius, had received many summonses from the Department of Buildings (DOB) – in error – and phone call after phone call yielded no results – until The Courier got involved.
Their home is the second from the corner, and has a visible address. But the house next door – which neighbors claim has been a nightmare since the day construction began five years ago – has no discernible address, and so the Campisis were receiving their neighbor’s violations.
“There are rats, raccoons, a lack of drainage,” said the couple. “This house has been a thorn in our side for five years.”
It was no big deal, they said, until they received a notice to appear in court for the property being “vacant, unguarded and open to vandalism. At the south side of the building, the cellar door is open and ungrounded and entire cellar is flooded with water.”
Ironically, say the couple, they had been calling to complain to 3-1-1 and the Department of Environmental Protection about just such conditions for years.
The notice informed them they were “ordered to commence within 24 hours to take down and remove or make safe and secure the structure.”
It was at this point, said Gloria, that she became upset.
She tried calling 3-1-1, the DOB and others.
“We were told, ‘We don’t have an address for them, so we give it to you,’” said Gloria. “They told me to find an address.”
Not sure of where to go, she called The Courier on Wednesday, September 1, who got in touch with the DOB.
The very next day, said Gloria, “A man came and said, ‘I’m here to apologize.’”
“I can understand the mistake, but I’ve gotten many notices,” she said. “But when I call and try to rectify it, do something about it.”
A spokesperson for the DOB said that the violation was “issued in error and will be dismissed.”
“I’m sure it’s from whatever you did,” said Gloria gratefully.
