Drug Houses Targeted In New Anti-crime Initiative

State Attorney General Spitzer, Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings and Albany County Sheriff James Campbell today announced plans to seek injunctions against landlords who allow their properties to be used in the sale of drugs.

"We must make an uncompromising commitment to ensure safe, drug-free communities," the Attorney General said. "Under state law, landlords have a responsibility to evict known drug dealers. My office will work with authorities in Albany County to identify these properties, enforce the rights of law-abiding tenants, and rid neighborhoods of drug trafficking."

Spitzer pointed out that the drug culture produces violence and crime at every level, from the kingpins to the dealers to the addicts. This initiative, which has been introduced in upstate New York and will be implemented statewide, will go a long way to stem the tide of such activity.

Mayor Jennings said: "I am most grateful to Attorney General Spitzer for his willingness to play an active role in the fate of our inner city neighborhoods. Facing fines and possible jail sentences will send a clear message to those landlords who knowingly rent their properties to drug dealers. This is a great response on the part of the Attorney General to help our residents rid their neighborhoods of drug houses."

The Attorney General noted that the persistence of those involved in the sale and use of narcotics requires a coordinated deterrent program, utilizing both penal and civil strategies. While police actions may target persons directly involved in the drug trade, the civil remedies announced by the Attorney General will be directed at those property owners who allow that trade to flourish.

Spitzer maintained that behind many notorious drug houses are absentee landlords who look the other way. "With help from local law enforcement and city government, my office will bring court proceedings against landlords in areas where landlords don’t care to whom they rent, ignore neighbors’ reports of drug dealing, allow their properties to crumble and flagrantly violate the building and housing codes. We will seek court orders to require the immediate eviction of all drug dealers and outline specific measures to clean up the properties for good."

Spitzer stressed that landlords who keep their properties in good repair and lack knowledge of drug dealing have nothing to fear from the initiative. "This isn’t about blaming the landlord first. "Obviously, anyone who rents out an apartment could wind up with a drug dealer. This program targets landlords who know what’s going on, or clearly choose not to know," he said.

Sheriff James L. Campbell said: "Our drug unit is involved in illegal narcotic activity throughout Albany County. We have witnessed first-hand the ravish that drug dealing can cause in a neighborhood. In the great majority of our arrests, be they in the cities or rural towns, the buildings are not owned by the drug abusers, but others who are obviously looking the other way. This initiative will certainly assist us in our efforts."

In making the announcement, Jennings and Campbell were joined in the rotunda at City Hall by members of an Albany neighborhood watch program. The elected officials pledged to work with the Attorney General in identifying drug locations and gathering evidence against landlords who encourage or tolerate drug activity.

The Attorney General’s office will utilize provisions of the state Executive Law and Real Property Law to bring its cases against the landlords as "special proceedings," rather than ordinary lawsuits. This will allow the office to obtain final judgments with great speed. In a special proceeding, there is no "discovery" period (which is often the cause of long delays in litigation) and generally, no need for a trial. Once an injunction is obtained, a landlord who fails to take the specific actions ordered by the court is subject to significant fines and possible jail time.

"We will be counting on neighborhood residents to let us know how fully the landlords are complying with the injunctions," Spitzer stated. "The ultimate goal here is not to win court orders for their own sake -- we want these locations converted from sources of terror to ordinary homes."