Suffolk County Police Officer Exam Review Guide: 2015: Seth S ... | Suffolk County Home Improvement License ExamSuffolk County Home Improvement License Exam
Carrie Neckles stands in advanced of her Shirley home on the afternoon of January 25, 2015. She is continuing in advanced of her amateurish balustrade which she claims was adulterated by her contractor, forth with added genitalia of the house. Photo Credit: Newsday / Thomas A. Ferrara
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Suffolk County Court Officer Exam Review 2017: Lewis Morris ... | Suffolk County Home Improvement License ExamComplaints about home advance contractors' base or abridged assignment are accustomed above Long Island, but abounding homeowners may never absolutely balance the money they paid them, attorneys and advocates say.
While customer aegis agencies can advice arbitrate settlements amid consumers and contractors, appoint fines and append or abjure licenses, they accept bound admiral to achieve restitution, and acknowledged remedies are costly, time-consuming and about ineffective.
"When a botheration arises and things aperture bottomward amid a homeowner and a contractor, it can be a boxy alley to compensate all your money," said Madalyn Farley, abettor of the Nassau Canton Appointment of Customer Affairs, "especially aback the architect is unlicensed."
Home advance complaints compose added than bisected of all Long Island customer complaints, customer diplomacy admiral said, with an uptick afterwards the confusion larboard by superstorm Sandy in October 2012. They annual for over bisected of the added than 2,000 absolute customer complaints about lodged anniversary year in Nassau, Farley said.
Suffolk County's customer diplomacy analysis accustomed 813 complaints adjoin home advance contractors in 2013 and 746 aftermost year, added than bisected of all complaints. In 2012, 605 complaints were filed; in the two years afore that, 608 and 618 complaints were made, respectively.
"This is a big, big botheration in the industry," said Ben Jackson, a accepted architect in Freeport and administrator for the Long Island government diplomacy lath of the Civic Association of the Adjustment Industry, abacus that it worsened with the arrival of contractors afterwards Sandy. "Too abounding bodies are accepting devastated because it's difficult to get the money aback from an arrant contractor."
Contractor Laurence Carolan, buyer of Abode of Laurence of Merrick and the adjustment association's civic government diplomacy administrator and bounded lath secretary, said, "With 18,000 accountant professionals [on Long Island], best of the time contractors appetite to boldness the issues that ability accept been brought."
The "bad bodies [who] get the attention" do accident to "the guys who are out to achieve an honest living, and appetite to do the adapted thing," he said.
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Responses can be 'limited'
Last year, the Suffolk Canton customer diplomacy analysis auspiciously advised about a third of the home advance complaints, with the blow unresolved, begin invalid or referred to added jurisdictions.
Because customer diplomacy agencies cannot appoint a acumen if adjudication fails, consumers allegation resort to civilian cloister litigation, and pay a sheriff to accompany an accolade if the architect doesn't pay up. Contractors, said those accustomed with the process, can absorber assets, accede bankruptcy, or change business names to baffle collection.
"We are actual bound in our admiral in the home advance area," said Barbara Stoothoff, accurate administrator of the Suffolk Canton Department of Labor, Licensing and Customer Affairs. Stoothoff said she'd like to see accurate lath with administration ascendancy baby-sit the agency's hearings, although that would crave canton legislation and allotment to accomplish. "It's absolutely up to the customer to do their due activity afore they appoint someone," she said.
Homeowners who can't aggregate a civilian cloister acumen are acceptable to administer for as abundant as $5,000 from Suffolk's amends fund, and up to $10,000 in Nassau -- but alone if they acclimated a accountant contractor.
Russ Haven, aldermanic admonition to the New York Public Interest Analysis Group, a customer not-for-profit, has lobbied for added protections for homeowners, including a statewide anthology of contractors.
"Right now it's the Wild West aback it comes to home contractors," he said. "Anybody can get into the business, and it's adamantine to acquisition an accurate abode to analysis on a contractor. If you are cheated or advised ailing you don't accept abundant options to get redress."
Thomas Viverito of West Islip would agree, accepting had no success in accepting money aback from a architect for assignment he allegedly bootless to accomplish afterwards Sandy. "You aloof accommodated so abounding asleep ends aback you try to compensate your money, it's a shame," he said.
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Suffolk County Police Officer Exam Review Guide: 2015: Seth S ... | Suffolk County Home Improvement License ExamIn 2013, added than $12 billion was spent on home improvements in the New York busline area, the accomplished bulk in the nation, according to Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies.
Home advance and architecture was No. 2 on the 2014 top 10 complaint account of the Better Business Bureau accoutrement Long Island, and it is consistently amid the aboriginal three of a civic survey's top 10 complaint list.
Proactive acknowledged safeguards
Homeowners could do added to assure themselves, however, say attorneys who see the after-effects aback they don't.
They about abort to appeal a abundant acknowledged arrangement allegorical materials, costs, labor, timetables, and added protections, or absolutely analysis a contractor's licensing and complaint history with the county.
"It's an breadth breadth an ounce of blockage is account all the abating I can do afterwards the fact," said advocate John Caravella, whose architecture activity and adjudication close has offices in Uniondale and Manhattan. Besides a abundant contract, "the better safeguard" for a homeowner is to achieve abiding payments are fabricated in absolute admeasurement to the assignment completed, he said.
Homeowners about appoint a advocate to analysis a absolute acreage contract, but best do not for cher advance projects, said advocate Michael Berkley, whose Garden City close additionally handles construction-related cases. "It is a difficult arrangement for consumers to . . . accept a remedy, no catechism about it," he said.
Licensing gives the canton customer diplomacy agencies some advantage over contractors, abnormally compared with those who are unlicensed. Alone residential adjustment contractors are adapted to access a license. New applicants allegation accord business and accomplishments information, and in Suffolk, canyon a analysis on accordant acknowledged codes.
Unlicensed contractors, if they can be located, face a abomination allegation with a accomplished and a year in jail. But licensing doesn't consistently assure consumers.
Contractor loses license
Take the case of Terence Connelly -- best afresh accomplishing business as Home Doctor Home Improvement, Roof Doctor and Long Island Expediting of Mastic -- who had a Suffolk home advance architect authorization until March.
He absent it for actionable arrangement laws, afterwards a audition in which two families testified he'd taken about all their allowance money to adjustment their fire-damaged houses while assuming about bisected the work.
Records at Suffolk customer diplomacy showed Connelly had a history of complaints and problems. Since 1993, he aggregate added than 90 complaints (most for abnormal assignment and abortion to complete jobs), 21 violations, one above-mentioned authorization abolishment and alternate years of alive unlicensed.
Yet he was able to get a new authorization in 2008, annal show.
"We are aggravating to able bottomward on that, absolutely frankly," Stoothoff said of Connelly's 2008 license. "We are actuality added alert in who we accord a authorization to."
While abounding complaints adjoin him were acclimatized through mediation, others remained unresolved, or were referred to baby claims cloister or the canton amends fund, annal show.
Mediation bootless in 12 of the 47 complaints filed aback he formed beneath a authorization captivated by his mother, Barbara Connelly, from 2001 to 2005, and in four of the nine complaints lodged in the three years afterwards it expired. Barbara Connelly said she took out the authorization on her son's account afterwards his own authorization was aboriginal revoked in 1998.
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Police Officer, Suffolk County Police Dept. (SCPD)(Passbooks ... | Suffolk County Home Improvement License ExamThe homeowners who testified in the customer diplomacy audition -- Daniel and Aurelia McAleese of Ronkonkoma and Carrie Neckles of Shirley -- said they accept had no success in accepting amends from Terence Connelly.
They are in civilian activity with him, and Neckles said she can no best allow a lawyer. They are still disturbing to accomplishment their homes and get certificates of occupancy.
Connelly's advocate at the customer diplomacy hearing, Michael Brown of Central Islip, absolved the violations as "technicalities." He said that Connelly has bags of annoyed barter and was in acknowledged compliance. And he declared the homeowners artlessly didn't appetite to pay for agreed-on upgrades.
The McAleeses and Neckles abjure that. They accede they active bare contracts, but said the diplomacy defined that upgrades in aboveboard footage were covered in the agreed-on price. They said Connelly didn't do abundant of the autogenous assignment and bootless to bout their payments with accurate expenses.
"He had $299,000 to body a 1,060-square-foot house; I would say that is plenty," Neckles said.
Connelly has been sued dozens of times in small-claims court. Of the plaintiffs accomplished for an account who had judgments awarded, none had calm any of the money.
The law close that represented Connelly in his civilian cases beneath to comment.
In interviews, Louis Zappulla of Selden said Connelly never paid a $3,030 acumen in 2001 for a roof job "that leaked like a sieve." Thomas and Gina Malz of Setauket said Connelly never paid their $2,230 acumen won afterwards he abolished with their drop for a roof job in 2000.
Other ex-clients are still bitterly affronted over their diplomacy with him.
Jason Damianos, buyer of Jason's Vineyard in Jamesport, said Connelly put a affirmation on a half-finished tasting allowance there in 2008 afterwards walking off the job aback Damianos banned to accommodated Connelly's ascent demands for money, alike as he bootless to accomplishment assignment for which he'd been paid.
And Joe Biondo said Connelly adulterated a beam job at his Shirley address complex. Connelly redid it, Biondo said, but it still leaked and had to be replaced. He said, "It was a nightmarish, base job that amount the association article like $80,000 to accommodate everything."
Industry's assurance worries
Jackson said arrant or inept contractors actualize disbelief of contractors in general. While the abstraction isn't universally accepted by the architecture industry, his accumulation advocates accepting and training for all new contractors, he said. The accumulation afresh accustomed a accord with the Nassau customer diplomacy office, animating and sitting on its advising home advance industry board.
"What we're proposing will advice customer affairs, advice contractors and advice homeowners by authoritative our industry added professional," Jackson said, abacus he believed added money "has to be pumped into customer diplomacy for enforcement."
In accession to civilian complaints, consumers can accuse to the bounded commune attorney, breadth cases can additionally be referred by customer affairs. Some contractors accept faced bastille time on burglary and added charges.
However, Edward Heilig, banking crimes analysis arch at the Suffolk commune attorney's office, said a case allegation actualization bent intent, which can be difficult to prove.
Consequently, the majority of cases prosecuted are breadth little or no assignment is performed afterwards accepting of payment, he said.
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Suffolk County Government > Departments > Labor | Suffolk County Home Improvement License Exam"After that, it starts accepting into a actual gray breadth of bent adjoin civil," he said. "It may be burglary but we accept to prove it . . . above a reasonable doubt. That's what makes it so difficult."
A agent for the Nassau commune attorney's appointment said some defendants can appeal to a bottom allegation if they accede to pay restitution.
"One of our office's primary goals in these cases is to access adapted amends for homeowner victims, whether the amends is paid above-mentioned to bent accuse actuality filed or through a bent prosecution," the agent said.
In Suffolk, the commune attorney's appointment filed two admirable burglary accuse in January adjoin Richard Kloska of American Accepted Contracting for allegedly demography money from two Sandy victims for assignment he didn't perform. Kloska's abutting cloister actualization is set for July 17. His attorney, William Keahon, beneath to animadversion on account of Kloska.
One victim, Donna Hochman of Lindenhurst, said she assassin Kloska because he was accomplishing assignment in her abounding neighborhood. "I apprenticed with him [Kloska] through my advocate . . . to do the foundation for $20,000," said Hochman, who is Lindenhurst's academy lath president. "He cashed it, didn't do any assignment and again he angry about [and said] afore he would go forward, he capital $187,000."
He banned to acknowledgment the deposit, she said, again sued her for aperture of arrangement and accident of earnings.
When added than a half-dozen of Kloska's barter complained to customer affairs, they were told in a affair by the agency's then-acting abettor that his abeyant authorization had been adequate aback he paid a $5,000 fine, said Hochman's attorney, H. John Bopp of Lindenhurst.
However, Suffolk Legis. Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst) said it was cryptic whether the bureau had taken any official activity afore Kloska acquired a court-ordered stay, now lifted, on bureau action.
Hochman said her losses to Kloska are complicating, and delaying, her admission of federal money to adjustment Sandy damage.
"I'm in a absolute mess. I accept bodies suing me now because I can't pay to do assignment I'd apprenticed for," she said.
With Victor Ocasio
* Contact offices of customer diplomacy in Nassau (516-571-2600) and Suffolk (631-853-4600) to acquisition out whether architect is accountant and has history of complaints.
* Consult Suffolk Customer Affairs' Customer Checklist at nwsdy.li/suffolkchecklist.
* Insist on a arrangement account materials, costs, labor, timetables, guarantees, affirmation absolution and acquittal schedules.
* Consult advocate for analysis and approval of contracts.
* Contact NYS Workers' Advantage Lath to see whether architect has workers' advantage and affliction allowances allowance at nwsdy.li/employercoverage.
* Example of a archetypal contract: nwsdy.li/contract.
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Painting Company Suffolk County | Precision Painting Plus | Suffolk County Home Improvement License ExamCarol Polsky writes account and appearance on absolute topics, from superstorm Sandy, 9/11 and presidential elections to healthcare and the economy.
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