Michael D'Onofrio

mcdonofrio@lohud.com

ORANGETOWN - Residents are flocking to a new tool to dissuade solicitors from knocking on their doors, including real estate canvassers.

Since the town code was amended April 12, between 500 and 700 residents have signed up for a new "no-knock registry" allowing them to declare their homes off limits to solicitors.

Residents can sign up for the registry at town hall, where they will be given a free, orange decal to display on their door.

“You can’t go on the property of people who have signed up for the registry,” Andy Stewart, Orangetown supervisor, said.

The town amended its existing “hawker and peddler” law, which already requires commercial vendors to obtain a permit at town hall, get a background check and be fingerprinted, and present permits upon request.

Now, when solicitors apply for a permit, they’ll also be given the list of homes to avoid.

Stewart said the new codes make it clear that solicitors seeking to buy things, such as homes and property, are included under the law.

Door-to-door real estate canvassing has been an issue throughout Rockland County, where residents have complained of pushy canvassers pressuring them to sell their homes.

“There are aggressive real estate agents, where they will knock on doors where nobody has even thought of selling their house,” Stewart said. “It is upsetting to people to have it suggested to them, when it was the farthest thing from their mind, to sell their house.”

'Blockbusting': Rockland residents pressured to sell homes

Amy Wertheim, a Pearl River resident, said she supported the registry and immediately signed up for it.

Wertheim said cable and telecommunication companies were a nuisance in her neighborhood, and that she was concerned about the real estate agents pressuring neighbors to sell their homes.

“To me, it’s another way of protection," Wertheim said referring to the registry. “I don’t need people coming to my house telling me I need to sell.”

The town also increased its fines for soliciting violations. The previous law called for up to $1,000 in fine for each offense. That was increased to up to $1,500 for a first offense; up to $3,500 for a second offense within 24 months; and up to $10,000 for a third offense or up to 30 days in jail.

No-knock registries are also gaining in popularity elsewhere in Rockland.

In Airmont, Mayor Phil Gigante planned to discuss a similar no-knock registry and updates to the village’s solicitation laws at a workshop meeting Monday night. He expects to draft an amendment to the village code, and potentially hold a public hearing in May.

Gigante said any changes to the village laws wouldn’t target at any single type of solicitor. Rather, he said, “a variety of solicitors” were causing the village to act, including real estate agents, telecommunication companies, and solar-panel companies.

The registry, Gigante said, would be “almost identical to Orangetown,” and give “people another tool to preserve their peace.”

Twitter: @mikedonofrio_