Town, Homeowner Resolve Christian Ave. Dispute [POLL]

Brookhaven Town has resolved a dispute with a homeowner over a home at 150 Christian Avenue in Stony Brook that has been the center of neighborhood controversy since March of 2011, when the town declared it an

The building department has issued permits for modifications to the home that were originally done without the proper permits, town spokesman Jack Krieger told Patch in an email on Monday.

In January, the town said it would be . Since then, Brookhaven has worked with the homeowner, identified as Steven Graziano, to bring the house into compliance with the town code. Graziano has also paid the town $2,000 in fines.

"The applicant's proposal and plans demonstrate compliance and a building permit was issued to achieve compliance in response to a plea and conditional discharge," the town spokesman said.

According to the town, Graziano initially pleaded not guilty to 13 violations of housing code last May. He later pleaded guilty to multiple violations and was sentenced to fines and a conditional discharge requiring that the home be brought within town code in a certain period of time.

The new permits issued for the home include:

• A permit for an existing irregular-shaped basement conversion that added one bathroom
• A first floor closet converted to a half bathroom
• First floor alterations including new French doors in the library and living room and a partition separating the living room from the stairwell
• Second floor alterations
• Subdividing a playroom to create a new bedroom and study

Brookhaven's town code has a statute limiting the number of unrelated people who can legally live in one house to eight. Initially, the town said as many as 14 college students were living there. On Tuesday afternoon, with seven vehicles parked in the unpaved driveway, a man who answered the door at the home said he did not know how many people were living there.

The house may have been home to a Stony Brook University party scene; a Twitter account, @stonypartyup, celebrated Stony Brook University party spots and tweeted the address 150 Christian Ave. on Sept. 3, 2010.

On Tuesday, nearby neighbors – none of whom wanted to be identified for this story – gave conflicting accounts of the activity at the home, with some saying frequent loud parties continue to take place and others saying it is not such a nuisance anymore.