Riverhead city officials found 14 people – including a toddler – in a single-family home, and the homeowner was cited for unsafe overcrowding conditions. Riverhead city police officers, city officials and city attorneys executed a search warrant on the property on August 19, when authorities found the basement divided into three makeshift living quarters where residents were sleeping near heating/boiler equipment and exposed plumbing and insulation.

“These violations pose a risk to the safety and welfare of the residents of the property in question and those in the surrounding area and will not be tolerated in Riverhead,” said Riverhead City Councilman Timothy Hubbard.

The case is one of a dozen that Riverhead authorities are pursuing for city ordinance violations and alleged overcrowding, officials said.

Violations in the latest case included overcrowding, exposed wiring, inadequate smoke detector equipment, inadequate escape routes, conversion of habitable space to residential space without a building permit or occupancy permit, and lack of a rental permit.

Investigators also said they found evidence that people were living in a detached, unheated garage on the property.