Hempstead, NY Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Town Code § 128-61 makes it unlawful for any owner, agent or person in possession of improved real property, or of vacant unimproved real property, to let lawns, weeds, grass or brush of any kind exceed eight inches in height. The same subsection separately bars accumulation of garbage, litter, refuse, rubbish or rubble on the property. The Sanitation Department serves a notice of violation under § 128-62, by personal service or certified mail (with posting on the premises if mailed), naming the owner or agent of record from the Receiver of Taxes' tax records.

Under § 128-63, the person served gets five days from service to cut the grass, weeds or brush, or two days if the notice is returned undeliverable. If the owner does not act, the Sanitation Department may enter the property, cut and clear the excess vegetation, and dispose of the clippings itself. The actual cost of that work, plus interest at 6% per year from completion, is added to the owner's next regular tax bill, and a sworn cost statement filed with the Town Clerk becomes a lien on the property. § 128-64 assigns enforcement to the Commissioner of the Department of Sanitation and staff designated by the Commissioner.