East Hampton Town last week cited the owner of a Montauk Shores trailer for illegal alterations after the structure was featured in a New York Post article celebrating the asking price of a sale listing.
Town officials noticed in a photo in the article that an attic of the trailer had been illegally converted into a loft-like bedroom space with very low, angled ceilings but four beds.
The town says that the owner, Kenneth Hildebrandt of Patchogue, has been notified that the structure violates the town code and has been given two weeks to remedy the illegal use of the attic space.
The structure is technically a “mobile home,” like all the units in Montauk Shores, but has been extensively renovated into a well appointed, 2,150-square-foot cottage.
According to the Post article, Hildebrandt has listed it for sale for $4.4 million with the brokerage Keller Williams Realty.
Another extensively renovated unit in the once modest trailer park sold last year for $3.75 million — a much smaller structure but on an oceanfront lot — and two others have sold for just shy of $2 million in recent years.
To meet code, all of the beds will have to be removed, since an attic cannot be made “habitable space,” and the permanent stairs that have been installed to access the attic space must be replaced with pull-down stairs, as safety codes dictate, the town said in a press release about the matter last week.
“The requirement to submit building plans for review by the town Building Department, and for post-construction inspections before a certificate of occupancy can be issued, is designed to safeguard residents’ safety by insuring that building construction and renovation is done according to state and local building and fire codes,” the town said in its statement. “The procedure also protects the community by assuring that town zoning codes are followed.”
Michael Wright on Sep 26, 2023