Town of Hempstead

Town weighs 'Do Not Knock' law

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The Town of Hempstead next week will consider a law that would implement a “Do Not Knock” policy to protect homeowners, while raising fines for solicitors who don’t register with the town.

At a press conference last week in Levittown, Town Supervisor Kate Murray announced the new initiative to provide homeowners relief from unwanted visitors. The town will make “Do Not Knock” stickers available to any resident, and any solicitor who ignores them would be subject to a $500 fine, which could rise to $1,000 for multiple violations.

The town already fines peddlers $250 if they violate any type of “No Soliciting” sign on a home. Under the proposed law, the initial fine would be doubled, and there would be uniform signs on homes throughout the town.

“We’re protecting our neighbors,” Murray said. “It’s a simple solution. We think a vast majority of peddlers will respect this.”

She added that the law would not apply to political organizations or nonprofit groups. That means the Girl Scouts would still be free to sell their cookies door to door.

Murray said that residents of the town have a right to privacy and peace in their homes. Many solicitors, she added, come in the late afternoon or early evening, when residents are relaxing after work and families are sitting down to dinner.

The press conference was held at the Sheep Lane home of Margaret Tardibuono, a retired nurse who has become agitated by frequent visits from solicitors. She said that if she needs the services of a business, she can go to it.

Tardibuono said that it is both uncomfortable and inconvenient to have solicitors come to her home, and it disturbs family time. She is hopeful that the law will make a difference. “It should have been instituted a long time ago,” she said.

The measure would also double the fine for peddlers who fail to register with the town clerk’s office. A violation would rise to $500.

Jenna Stack, of Wantagh, recently created an online petition at Change.org, calling on the town to implement a law like this. A specific incident sparked her ire: she was caring for her son a day after he had surgery, and three solicitors came to the door, each time waking him up.

She created the petition in the middle of February, and after sharing it on Facebook, got nearly 300 signatures from residents across the town. “I just got fed up and I started the petition,” Stack said. “People really want this. People feel the same way I do.”

Laura Moakley, of Seaford, found out about the petition through Facebook, and signed it right away. She also plans to get a “Do Not Knock” sticker from the town, and said she believes it will be effective. “We do have a problem with solicitors in the area,” she said. “I don’t want to have to answer the door after a long day of work while I finally sit down to eat with my family.”

While most who commented on the petition were in favor of the law, there were some who were opposed. “Door-to-door sales have been a legitimate entrepreneurship of everyday Americans since the birth of this nation,” an anonymous poster from Franklin Square wrote. “Do we really want people to not be able to ring a doorbell?”

Murray said that while the she has no guess as to how many people will request a “Do Not Knock” sticker, the initial printing will be at least 20,000 decals. “We expect a very large response,” she said.

She explained that the law has been in the works for some time, as she and fellow town board members have frequently heard complaints about solicitors from residents — many, Murray added, from senior citizens.

Stack said she was glad that the law is being considered so soon after she created her petition. “I just think that it’s such a great thing to feel that in your home you can control who comes on your property,” she said. “You want to protect your family.”

Murray said that if a solicitor were to knock on a door with a sticker, the resident should call either the town’s Building Department or the police. The town would not be able to enforce the law within villages, but residents there could still request the stickers.

A similar law is in effect in the Town of Oyster Bay.

A public hearing will be held on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. at Town Hall. The law is expected to pass, as Murray was also joined by Councilman Gary Hudes and Councilwomen Erin King Sweeney and Dorothy Goosby last week. It would take effect as soon as it was filed with the state.