Town to clean up mess on private property

Town to clean up mess on private property

The owner of a messy property on long island has two outstanding warrants because of the junk on his land. Some people even want the property owner arrested.

After a public hearing, the town decided to take care of the mess itself.

Charles Ritchie avoided our camera, but you can't avoid the junk, debris and, who knows what else, littering his front yard, back yard, and home on heather drive in kings park.

People are up in arms about it.

Smithtown Supervisor Patrick Vecchio said the Town Council voted to step in. It will send crews on to Ritchie's property to clean it up. Vecchio said the town will assess the cleanup cost, prepare a judgment, and file it as a tax lien against the property after it is cleaned.

The problem for many, though, is that Ritchie hasn't really taken care of anything up to this point. But for now, it's a start.

Ritchie declined to talk to us.

Town officials say that if he attempts to stop the crews from going on to his property, he could be arrested.

In terms of the cleanup, town officials say that will probably happen by the end of the month.