Party prompts Stony Brook housing crackdown

A wild weekend house party near Stony Brook University has prompted a housing violation crackdown.
Police say Saturday's party on Stony Brook Road involved a fraternity from the nearby university and more than 200 students. Police say two precincts and a chopper were brought in to disperse the crowd. Three arrests were made.
Neighbors say at least 229 homes in the area are being rented out as "boarding houses" to Stony Brook University students who find it cheaper to rent than live in a dorm. The Town of Brookhaven, which oversees housing laws, says it's begun a new crackdown on absentee landlords and illegal group homes before a tragedy occurs.
"There are a number of code violations," says Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine. "There was no smoke detector, there was no CO detector. There were interior doors that were locked,"
One landlord, who heads a landlord/tenant coalition, says he has not broken the law. He claims neighbors are only complaining because they don't want students living near them.
The first test case of Brookhaven's group housing crackdown comes later this month, when a corporate owner/landlord is set to be sentenced.