Squatters Found at Mineola Spa

A pair of squatters have been kicked out of a Mineola beauty spa on Jericho Turnpike Monday according to the village building department.

A man and a woman were found to have set up camp in the backroom of the late Sunday night after a fire alarm sounded at the location near the intersection of Jericho Turnpike and Herricks Road.

“They had received an alarm of fire at the building,” village building superintendent Dan Whalen said of the members of the who responded to the alert which came in at 11:30 p.m. Sunday.

Mineola firefighters found no blaze, instead when they attempted to make entry “someone in the building came to the front door,” Whalen said. “They allowed them to get into the building and while the fire department was in there they discovered that those individuals were in fact sleeping in a backroom of the building.”

At about 11:45 p.m., Whalen said that he received a call from Mineola Fire Department Chief Joe Pratt requesting his presence at the scene. The superintendent arrived at about 12:15 p.m. and conducted an inspection of the shanty apartment which had been fabricated and included a mattress and personal belongings including toiletries, computers, jewelry and money were in the backroom. According to Whalen the couple had slept in the store at least on Saturday night.

“I have no idea if it was going on before that,” he said. “It was difficult to tell because they were living out of suitcases and bags, so while those four or five suitcases were open and there were items – personal items like clothes and shoes and toiletries and such – in plain view, there was little or no furniture at all with the exception of the mattress and one chair.”

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The individuals – a man and a woman – were reportedly in “in their sleeping garments” when the alarm first went off. They are reportedly the cleaning crew who come in twice a week.

The business is currently owned by three individuals: a husband and wife and their adult son. Allegedly both the wife and son were “out of town” when the incident occurred Whalen said and the owner stated at the scene that he “had no knowledge” of the people sleeping there “but he did know who they were.”

Monday morning Whalen said that the village closed and locked the building and returned at 4 p.m. for another inspection to ensure that the squatters’ possessions were removed.

“If it’s clear we’re going to allow them to reopen the store,” he said.

Earlier in the day Whalen had interviewed the owner’s wife, serving her with five summonses, as well talked with the spa’s operations manager.

“I had asked him how he missed a mattress coming into this particular building that these two were sleeping on in the back of this premises,” Whalen said, noting a back door is  located on the parking lot side of the building. “Again, the same story. They believe (Saturday) night was their first night. I’m not sure that that’s the case but we’ll find out when we get to court.”

The spa from the village but Whalen said that he could not recall seeing “much if any business going on” at the location. He added that he did not know if the squatters were living in the building at the time of the operation or “if there was no operation if this is where they were living.”

Whalen said that according to the operations manager, the female cleaner moved into the store because of marital problems.

“When I asked him who the gentleman with her was last night, it was the husband so I’m not really sure what these (people) are up to, I just know they don’t belong there and they create a fire hazard and that’s a dangerous situation.”

A file does exist on the location with several summonses issued to the owners prior to obtaining a permit “because they were putting this all together without permits,” Whalen said. “They were doing construction, electric and plumbing work in the building prior to their opening.” Whalen said that a $2,000-$3,000 fine was paid for those summonses.

The five new summonses carry a maximum fine of $1,000 per violation, for a total amount of $5,000. An arraignment is scheduled for May 14 in the , with a conference or trial to follow.