Revisiting "The House Too Narrow"

Remember the post, "Narrowminded?" It was one of the more popular submissions to Queens Crap, as it spotlighted a rather egregious building offense. Well, there's a lot more to the story.

Photo at left shows the extremely narrow driveway, which is less than the required 8 feet wide. No normal car could fit in there. "Motorcycles only"?

Next we have a photo showing the poorly built curb cut. It is much wider it is than it's legally allowed to be. It's obvious that the concrete pad in front of the front door is intended to be used for parking, and the wider-than-legally-allowed curb cut makes it easy for the Escalade or livery car to be pulled in.

The space between the driveways is too small, eliminating any street parking between the driveways.

The third photo shows the three homes that were built in place of the one.





Photos four and five show the original house after the demo crew was caught demolishing the house without permits and with the electricity and gas still live in the house. Notice there was no fence.

From this week's Times Ledger:

City revokes 88th Rd. home permits
By Howard Koplowitz

Permits have been revoked from two fully constructed Bellerose homes for failing to comply with the neighborhood's zoning regulations, a city Department of Buildings spokeswoman confirmed.

The houses at 249-23 and 249-27 88th Rd. had drawn the anger of community residents, civic leaders and state Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose), who sent a letter to the Buildings Department calling for the structures' permits to be revoked and the homes demolished.

Kate Lindquist, the Buildings spokeswoman, said the homes cannot be sold as is and the developer will need to resubmit plans to the agency.

Among the violations, the houses were cited for being less than eight feet apart and having curb cuts that were too large, which eliminated two parking spaces on the block.

The gas pipes also were unobstructed, rusted and the cellar windows were level with the ground.

Community Board 13 Chairman Richard Hellenbrecht called the revocation of the permits "a very good step," but cautioned that he would not be satisfied until the amended plans are approved.

Padavan said the Buildings Department has yet to respond to his letter, but he heard from Hellenbrecht and Queens Colony Civic Association President Angela Augugliaro that the permits on the two homes were withdrawn.

The senator was skeptical that amended plans could be drawn up without knocking down at least one of the houses.

"I don't see how they could do it," he said.

Augugliaro said the homes "look disgusting" and wishes they are torn down.

"I don't want three houses on that lot," she said. "Three houses don't belong on that lot."

The owner of the structures, Jamaica-based Javid Homes Corp., also owns an adjacent building at 249-21 88th Rd. Construction will be allowed to continue at that house, Lindquist said.

Mike Soroush of Javid Homes Corp. said he built the two homes legally and claimed that the zoning regulations may have changed after he built the structures.

"When I built these houses, I had the right zoning," Soroush said.

He said if the neighborhood, civic leaders and Padavan were upset with what he constructed, "they can pay for these buildings and knock (them) down and make it a park."

Hellenbrecht said Buildings should not have waited to hear complaints from residents and for Padavan to look at the homes' plans.

"It's the Buildings Department's job to find these things on their own," he said, noting that the community has been complaining about the houses "since the day the spade went into the ground."