Clarkstown Adds 'Do Not Knock' Registry

Supervisor George Hoehmann and the Clarkstown Town Board have approved a new local law creating a “Do Not Knock” Registry to prohibit solicitation to the homes of residents who register.

Clarkstown joins other local communities around Rockland who are adding such laws. Residents have complained about aggressive real estate sales people in particular.

" If our doors are not being knocked on, our mailboxes are being flooded with solicitations for a "couple in Brooklyn who will buy your home sight unseen," wrote the administrators of Take Rockland Back.

It's happening nearby as well. In Toms River, NJ, officials acted in February to ban real estate soliciting in two areas for five years.The ban came in the wake of months of conflict over the activities of real estate agents in the part of town closest to Lakewood, which has experienced tremendous growth among its Orthodox Jewish population.

The Clarkstown law also intends to preserve the peace, health, safety and welfare of the town, officials said.

“Our residents have had enough of overly aggressive solicitors and we have taken bold action," Hoehmann, who proposed the initiative, said. "This new local law strengthens our Town Code and provides residents with a tool to stop solicitors from knocking on their doors. Together we will preserve the character of our neighborhoods and the ‘Do Not Knock’ registry sends a clear message to solicitors in Clarkstown that this belligerent behavior will not be tolerated.”

Clarkstown officials said residents who wish to participate in the “Do Not Knock” registry can complete a form available in the Town Attorney’s office or on the Town’s website at Clarkstown.org. Each resident on the registry will be provided a sticker to place on or near their door to alert solicitors that the address is on the “Do Not Knock” registry.

Any solicitor is already required by Town Code (chapter 208 Peddling, Hawking and Soliciting) to obtain a permit from the Town to solicit and will now be required to obtain the current Do Not Knock registry.

Nothing in this section of the Town Code prohibits the distribution of leaflets, pamphlets or other literature, such as commercial, political or religious material, distributed in a lawful manner, officials said.