32 Found Living In Overcrowded Home; 21K In Fines, Officials Say

EAST HAMPTON, NY — A property owner and house manager pleaded guilty in East Hampton Town Justice Court Monday after a search warrant revealed "serious overcrowding and hazardous conditions" at a home in town, officials said.

There were a total of 69 charges written after a search warrant was executed last July and led to the discovery of 32 unrelated people occupying the single-family home, East Hampton Town officials said. However, the owner and property manager did not plead guilty to all of those charges, town officials said.

Evan L. Davis, of Jamaica, NY, owner of the home located at 38 Railroad Avenue off Abraham's Path in East Hampton pleaded guilty Monday to one count of violating the East Hampton Town code — in satisfaction of 34 outstanding charges — and paid a total fine of $10,000, town officials said.

Elorda Braham, the property manager, pleaded guilty to a total of 12 charges in satisfaction of 35 outstanding charges, and was fined $11,000, town officials said.

During an early morning inspection on July 30, 2018, town ordinance officers, assisted by
officers from the police department, fire marshals and building inspectors, discovered the
numerous occupants, 18 of whom were sleeping on mattresses on the floor of a basement,
where there was a gasoline generator and gasoline was stored, town officials said.

No smoke detectors or carbon monoxide detectors were in place, and use of the generator in the space could have created "deadly" levels of carbon monoxide, East Hampton Town officials said in a release.

The majority of the occupants were from elsewhere but were living in East Hampton and
working at local businesses; last year, they told investigators that they paid the house manager
between $100 and $150 per week in cash for rent, officials said.

Under the terms of an order of conditional discharge offered to both the owner and house manager, which will be in effect until July 8, 2020, the Railroad Avenue house may not be rented to non-family members, and the maximum number of family tenants will be nine, town officials said.

In addition, the owner and property manager must allow for up to seven re-inspections of the property to take place during the next 12 months to ensure compliance with the terms as well as with all other East Hampton Town code and New York State fire prevention code and state building code provisions, the town said.

The court may modify or expand on the requirements at its discretion, and if the owner and house manager violate the conditions or commit an additional offense during the conditional discharge period, the agreement may be revoked and the matter referred back to the court, town officials said.

“The Town of East Hampton will remain vigilant in our efforts to address cases like this of
overcrowding and misuse of single-family houses in residential neighborhoods,” said East
Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc. “This type of situation not only poses a risk to the
occupants of a house, but impacts public safety, the environment, and neighborhood residents
by overtaxing septic systems and diminishing the quality of life.”