Friday, January 10, 2014

They really love paving stones





"It's amazing what you discover when you walk the dog.

And I am in wonder why I've never seen these violations before, but they appear to be springing up all over.
I've filed a half dozen on-line 311 / DOB complaints in the past 3 weeks.

Example. 141-18 Negundo Ave at Robinson.
Violation of the fence height restrictions and full paving of front and rear yards.

On the yardage paving matter we are reminded of the adopted yard texts of 2008 and the initiatives by City Council to make neighborhoods more greener, attractive and environmental sound. The full paving of yards converts otherwise pervious surfaces into impervious surfaces.

"Ensuring that residential developments throughout the five boroughs have adequate yards and green space is critical to creating a livable, sustainable city with a healthy environment and an improved quality of life," said Director Burden. "Landscaped surfaces will absorb storm water, cool the air and make neighborhoods more attractive places to live and raise a family."

City Council Zoning Sub-Committee Chair Tony Avella, who has opposed the paving over of front yards, stated, "Replacing greenery with concrete not only is an aesthetic issue, it also hurts the environment and overburdens the city sewer system. The Yards Text Amendment has other significant improvements to the zoning which will help to preserve the quality of life in low-density residential neighborhoods throughout the City."

Civic leaders should take an interests in the paving matter as many were involved in the development of the Yard Text Amendment proposal 6 years ago in the aftermath of a series of damaging storm water overflow and flood events across Queens.

Thank you." - anonymous

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

There's houses like this in my neighborhood. ...They are ugly and house 4 families in it.....Most (not all) people who own these houses are foreigners. ....don't you know these foreigners and illegals don't have laws? The law doesn't apply to them (or at least they think it doesn't)

Anonymous said...

First of all, that fence is a canvas for the next graffiti "artist" that comes down the block.

The reason no one is calling in complaints is because people only care about what is going on directly next to them. No one cares until it happens to their next door neighbor. I guarantee that person's neighbors don't even know they did anything wrong because everyone else around them are doing it.

The community needs to get up off it's ass and make themselves heard. Nothing will happen unless the people make it happen.

All those pavers are really bad for flooding and they will cause problems.

Is there a civic here?

Anonymous said...

This is the Chinese - they love cutting down several hundred-year-old trees and paving everything over. They should be heavily fined!

The city should just bring a bulldozer and clear away these ugly, cheap plastic fences and rip up the pavers. Plant grass and present the owners with the bill x 2.

Make a little revenue for for the city and the landscapers!

Joe Moretti said...

It seems that community boards and local leaders totally ignore these quality of life issues and then the city agencies do very little to see that they do not happen or correct them.

Anonymous said...

When there are so many paveovers and so many 8 foot fences, what you are doing is remaking the image of Queens into that of Mexico City, Shanghai, or Mumbai where paverovers and 8 foot fences are the markers for entering the middle class.

Welcome to the new arrivals and the new normal: grass is just bad and an attractive 4 foot wrought iron fence is to low and too expensive.

When the city starts tearing up the paveovers and tearing down those 8 foot fences, I will believe that there's real concern for our urban environment.

Ms. Katz, tear down this wall.

Anonymous said...

The Cambridge Paving Stones jingle is so catchy it makes me want to pave over my yard too!

Anonymous said...

but nyc.gov/bis does not show any complaints after 2011 (as of 9am Jan 10); and looking at the complaints 2008-2011, it would appear something is really crooked about the inspections of this property

Anonymous said...

You are looking at the future of all of Queens, wherever there is not a high rise or commercial bldg, you will have this. 25 years from now, old Queens will be no where to be found.

Anonymous said...

Imagine walking down the four-foot wide sidewalks of Queens where there's trash on your left and 8-foot-fences on your right for block after block. That's Queens 2025 or 2030.

Anonymous said...

But immigrants bring such wonderful, diverse cultures with them, and make our communities stronger and better, right????

Steve P said...

I smell a lot of sour grapes here.

This is a great looking house, all redone and everything.

I just want to know, Who the fuck are you all to tell people what to do with THEIR OWN LAND? If they want privacy, fine. People should enjoy THEIR OWN PROPERTY first and then worry about passers by.

Face it, Queens is the big city and there is no doubt in my mind that the people who occupy this house work for a living. The owner spent a lot of money, probably locally, to fix up what was probably a crappy old piece of junk. There is no doubt that the occupants of this house have some sort of a business. If they want to park their work van at night there, then fine. It is THEIR OWN LAND. If people fix up a house, great. If they do not illegally increase a cut curb, great. Homeowners have no obligation to aesthetically please passers by.

You reported them and many others. Does that make you feel powerful? You probably cannot afford a fixed up home over a million bucks but you feel that you have some sort of hold on them that you can take your miserable ass to the buildings department and file an anonymous complaint.

Come back to me if you actually face these hard working homeowners from whatever country they come from and tell them to their face that you reported them. You are a pathetic wretch for doing that. You have strong 'computer balls' and 'anonymous balls'.

Why don't you focus on the real problems in this city, lazy ass welfare recipients, criminals, hipsters, a loser skoo system, and various other societal problems and not working people?

Queens Crapper said...

Guess what, genius? Parking a commercial vehicle on residential property is illegal, as is paving over your front/side yards. Both are zoning violations. Try to understand the law before you come here spewing nonsense that people have the right to do whatever the hell they feel like doing with their property, because they, in fact, don't. People like you are a big part of the problem.

Anonymous said...

Fence height is also regulated by the DOB.

Anonymous said...

They summonsed a home in Middle Village at the beginning of the year for having a fence above the legal height. Glad to see DOB doing its job for once.

Anonymous said...

Hey Steve P, zoning laws were passed against paving, tall fences and commercial vehicles because voters demanded it. If you don't like it, leave.

Anonymous said...

Joe Moretti said...
"It seems that community boards and local leaders totally ignore these quality of life issues and then the city agencies do very little to see that they do not happen or correct them."

You hit the nail right on the head Joe.

Anonymous said...

Steve P,
You sound like you are new to Queens or never lived in it and can't recall like us long time residents when Queens was such a delightful place to live, work and raise a family.
We are now witnessing Queens quickly becoming a third world slum and I don't see it ever stopping. When I retire I can see myself moving to a another place and have only my memories of a once wonderful Queens that will never exist again. If that bothers you wait to you get older and live in a Foreign third world slum called N.Y.C. !

Steve P said...

To everyone......

I was born in Queens in 1960 and I just left Queens because I am in my final years of working and I am positioning for retirement. Initially we lived in Woodside, then Jackson Heights, and then Whitestone. My own house was in Bayside.

To not get too specific, my parents left Third World - Post WW2 Middle Europe. They came here and made it. They did not know English but they learned it to some extent. I was fortunate to get educated here and I have a very good job in the software field in the private sector.

To all those who trash immigrants, those who are arriving here now are very little difference than my parents and probably yours too. Certainly my parents worked harder than I did.

Look at 4 generation Americans. 1% are truly rich people controlling large businesses. The other 99% are mostly uneducated trailer trash. I know it. Go to any trailer park in 'Real America' and ask these folks their last names. You will hear Washington, Adams, Monroe, Cadwallader, Rensellear, Wellington, etc...

Now get people whose last name is Mehta, Chan, Wyszinski, Rodriguez, Singh, Wong, etc... you will see hard working middle class entrepreneurs, people who value education, and people who are chasing and catching the American dream.

This article is clearly an attack on whatever middle class left in Queens.

Queens Crapper said...

Not really sure who you think is doing the complaining or the attacking, as nearly all of us here are descendants of 20th century immigrants. Furthermore, I am a 5th generation American (1/2 of my family came from Poland and the other side came from Italy) and don't live in a trailer park. Nor do I want the rest of Queens to look like one, which is what dead storage and concrete everywhere makes it look like. Nor do I want it to look like the places my neighbors left.

Anonymous said...

Yes, "Joe Moretti" is a WASP from a trailer park. Who let this clown in? I find it funny that the one who is leaving is giving the rest of us who are staying a lecture about what Queens should look like and who lives there.

Anonymous said...

"Now get people whose last name is Mehta, Chan, Wyszinski, Rodriguez, Singh, Wong, etc..."

And you will see neighborhoods that look like slums. Funny, they didn't look that way after the previous waves of immigrants.

Joe said...

What I find more offensive then paving stones is plastic bowling balls & pins.

What is that bulky gawd cheap crap supposed to be or show ?
These a'Os may as well put Fedders or lipstick on pigs