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Unwanted Disruption And Noise Have Turned Neighbors Into Watchdogs For Code Enforcement Officers
By Tina Traster
No doubt the party planning included sending out the invitations, preparing a menu, maybe even ordering some balloons. But for Anthony Neil and Sharelle Coore, the celebration also involved notification to their attorney who then alerted the Town of Orangetown a private birthday party would take place on a Saturday night in May.
This is what might happen when homeowners abuse the use of their single-family house, upset neighbors, and after a long and protracted legal fight, pay a stiff fine for the infractions. Even so, on May 31th, neighbors became agitated when they heard a chorus of voices at the home of Hobbs Drive in Blauvelt after midnight. Police were called but did not find loud music, or any noise that exceeded allowable decibel levels. But it remains unclear as to whether the homeowners violated a Stipulation of Settlement signed on Dec. 8, 2025 because the agreement prohibits them from having party guests past 11 pm.
Neil and Coore made headlines in the summer of 2024 because they were renting out their backyard pool for for-profit parties. The enterprise violated Orangetown’s zoning codes, which do not permit a single-family house to be used for commercial purposes. Distressed neighbors began speaking up about crowds, lewd behavior, noise, an overflow of cars, and the aftermath of the pool parties that left their leafy neighborhood littered with the detritus of nightclub-style swim parties.
It took more than two years for the town, with the help of neighbors, to gather evidence needed to take Neil and Coore to both Rockland Supreme Court and town justice court. Neighbors say they endured the disruptions for three summers — and they’re hoping they will not see a fourth year of disruptions.
“They can have parties so long as they follow the rules,” said a neighbor, who asked not to be identified. “There were people outside talking and laughing past 11 p.m., and this breaks the rules of the stipulation.”
In Dec. 2025, Neil and Coore paid $10,000 in fines for violating town laws. They agreed to limit outdoor gatherings from 9 am to 11 pm through Dec. 31, 2027.
On May 31th, Orangetown Police responded to a noise complaint at their home on Hobbs Drive. The police report says there were four cars in the driveway and four cars on the street. “Homeowner stated she is having a birthday party and she continuously checks the noise levels with her own decibel monitor to ensure the gathering does not violate town code.” The police said no violations were observed, but Orangetown Town Attorney Rob Magrino said, “we are looking into it,” because the stipulation requires the homeowners to end parties by 11 pm.
“My clients, despite the prior proceedings, have endeavored to be good neighbors and going forward should not be unfairly singled out from using their backyard as any other family has a right to do so in the Town,” said Kevin Conway, who represented Neil and Coore in their case against Orangetown. Conway is also Clarkstown’s Town Attorney. “I will continue to be in touch with the (Orangetown) Town Attorney further to insure that there are no further issues going forward.”
When homeowners endure years of disruption to their peace and quiet, they become hyper tuned in to the source of historic grief. Throughout Rockland County, homeowners are living near or next to homes that are used improperly or illegally. It is not unusual for investors to buy a fleet of home and turn them into rentals. A common scheme involves contractors “renting” the home, seemingly to house a single family, but instead stocks the house with a rotating crew of hired (and often indentured) workers who are not here legally and do not have drivers’ licenses.
Towns have made some effort to crack down on single-family houses that convert their backyards and swimming pools into entertainment rentals. Many homeowners who had been advertising on Swimply and other online sites that connect homeowners with people looking to party in the suburbs, have either ceased that activity or found workarounds to rent their backyards without advertising on a visible site. Instead, they maintain private lists or fly under the radar, making it more difficult for building inspectors to find them. That’s where the vigilance of neighbors plays a vital role — but it’s the town’s code enforcement officers who must gather evidence.
Too often, the town drags its heels. The courts allow too much time. And homeowners become increasingly angry but programmed to live with a host of disturbances, while at the same time feeling helpless.
In one case in Clarkstown, an absentee homeowner who owned a property with two houses (along with nearly 14 other properties in Clarkstown and Orangetown) was using a Valley Cottage property for nearly two years to board construction and trades workers. At the height of the scene, a hundred cars would come and go over a 24-hour period. In this case, the burden rested on neighbors to monitor the coming and going of cars and taxis, provide photos of explosive garbage piles, and gauge volume of occupants, which clearly suggested that the houses were not inhabited by single families.
Clarkstown brought charges in Town Justice court after a year of neighbors’ complaints, but the homeowner played a game: sometimes he showed up for hearings, sometimes he didn’t. He told the court he’d empty the houses, and he put a For Sale sign up. After nearly half dozen hearings, he was slapped with a $5,000 fine. But months later, a scaled down version of the same scheme started anew, with cars picking up and dropping off the workers living in the house.
The town has not been responsive to the latest round of complaints, according to sources.
Rockland residents throughout the county’s towns are grappling with the frustration of living near or next to houses that are used as something other than single-family residences.
In the Town of Ramapo, Town of Haverstraw, and Clarkstown, a growing number of homes are being converted from single-family usage to places of worship. In April, RCBJ reported on a group of neighbors on Pleasant Hill Drive in New City who are angry that a rabbi’s house on their street has been converted to a house of worship.
The neighbors say Clarkstown should adhere to a law passed in 2016 that prohibits houses of worship on town roads. The local law says non-residential uses in residential zones, including houses of worship, must be located on a state or county road, and not on town-owned secondary, or collector roads. The law was designed to restrict non-residential, high-traffic developments, such as schools and religious institutions, from being placed in residential areas. The law also requires at least 100 feet of frontage and sets minimum parking requirements.
That law is being tested for the first time in another legal case.
Rabbi Naftali Horowitz of New City recently filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming the denial of variances by the Clarkstown Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) that would have allowed the expansion of his home on a residential road in New City violated RLUIPA (Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act,) and denied his religious rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, particularly his right to freely exercise his religion and right to associate with others seeking to worship at his home.
In March, the Town filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. It is also fighting allegations that the Zoning Board denial gives the plaintiff standing to challenge a local law that prohibits houses of worship on town roads.
A federal court will have to decide if it agrees with Horowitz, who believes he has a religious and legal right to expand his home to accommodate additional worshippers despite the bulk limitations in the local zoning code. Or a court may side with the town and find Clarkstown’s denial of variances to expand a residential home to accommodate additional religious practices contrary to the town code does not amount to a RLUIPA violation.
