Legislation introduced to force junk car removal

From Brooklyn Daily:

Councilman Alan Maisel (D–Marine Park) has penned new legislation that would require the city to haul away cars abandoned without plates within one month of a do-gooder making a complaint, the local pol announced during a Community Board 18 meeting on Oct. 24.

Hundreds of derelict cars have lingered for months on his district’s streets over the years, vexing communities already strapped for parking spaces — so it’s about time the city follow its own rules and tow them away, said Maisel.

“There are a couple of hundred cars that have to be towed, and the city, for whatever reason, has chosen not to take this issue as a priority,” he said. “The legislation is putting the city on the spot to force them to do what they should be doing.”

Currently, once someone files a complaint about an abandoned vehicle without any plates, the Department of Sanitation is supposed to investigate within three days, tag it if it’s a complete wreck, and then remove it within another three days, according to a spokesman for New York’s Strongest. If it looks still in working order, then it’s up to the police department to haul it off, the spokesman said. And the police don’t have a time limit for towing away plateless cars.

The city has fallen short of its duties to address quality-of-life issues such as derelict cars dumped on the street, and it’s leaving locals fed up, said Maisel.

Private streets may be taken over by city

From Brooklyn Daily:

The city is taking a crucial step towards taking over responsibility for hundreds of unmapped streets — the private byways in many neighborhoods which homeowners are now burdened with maintaining.

Mayor DeBlasio has signed a new law requiring the Department of Transportation to identify and study all of the city’s unmapped streets with the aim of the city acquiring them in order to bring them into the normal system of municipal maintenance.

Councilman Alan Maisel (D–Canarsie) introduced the legislation because maintenance has become too burdensome for many of his constituents who live on such streets, he said.

Under the new law, the Department of Transportation must identify and study all unmapped streets citywide by June 30, 2018, to determine the feasibility of bringing them onto the city rolls, Maisel said.

But the process of adding a street to the city map isn’t always as straightforward as one might think. In many cases, it’s not clear which streets — or even which parts of a street — are outside the city’s purview. Hence the need for the study, Maisel said.

“What is and what isn’t, we don’t know, there are lots of them, every street has a different history and we want to know,” he said. “There’s a lot of confusion, and it requires a lot of research.”

They even bribe each other!

From Crain's:

Some of the most likely candidates to become the next New York City Council speaker are spreading campaign cash to other campaigns, in an apparent early effort to curry favor and votes among potential colleagues in 2014.

Over the past several months, Queens Assemblyman Mark Weprin, who is jockeying to be selected speaker by his council peers, has given out seven $1,000 donations. The $7,000, most of it doled out in recent weeks, has gone to members of the Assembly running for the City Council who are not only likely to win their races, but have a relationship with Mr. Weprin from his own days as a member of that body. Recipients include Assemblymen Rafael Espinal and Alan Maisel of Brooklyn, Councilman Vincent Gentile of Brooklyn, Costa Constantinides of Queens, Assemblywoman Vanessa Gibson of the Bronx, Mark Levine of Manhattan, and Manhattan Assemblyman Micah Kellner.

Not to be outdone, speaker's race rival Dan Garodnick, has given more: nearly $18,000. The Manhattan councilman, whose campaign account is flush from an aborted citywide run for comptroller, has given the $2,750 maximum contribution for a primary to six different candidates. Most of it was paid earlier this month. The recipients include Mr. Constantinides, Ms. Gibson, Mr. Levine, Bronx Council candidate Andrew Cohen, Brooklyn's Chris Banks and Manhattan Councilwoman Rosie Mendez. He also has given $500 to Bronx Councilman Andy King, and $750 to Bronx Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez.
Another likely contender, Bronx Councilman James Vacca, has given three donations to council campaigns: $2,700 to Mr. Cohen, $1,000 to Ms. Gibson and $1,375 to Mr. King.

Developer asks BSA for hardship waiver for illegal building

From NYCityWatch via Sheepshead Bites:

Community members and elected officials from Brooklyn’s Marine Park section opposed a developer’s request Tuesday for permission to complete an oversized building that violated the zoning code.

The city stopped work on the six-story building at 2232 Kimball St. five years ago after the Buildings Department realized it was bigger than the zoning permitted. The developer doesn’t have the $500,000 that would be needed to remove the top two floors, its representative, Margery Perlmutter, told the city Board of Standards and Appeals on Tuesday.

Kimball Group filed a “hardship” waiver in April that the local community board, which is limited to an advisory role, rejected unanimously.

“I do not consent to the Kimball Group receiving waivers,” Joann Mitchum, who lives in a neighboring building, told the Board of Standards and Appeals on Tuesday. “Actions speak louder than words. They haven’t done anything to help our community.”

Marine Park resident Margaret McCarthy said the developer should not be rewarded for violating the zoning regulations. “It’s an eyesore, it’s a health hazard,” she said.

“The building was built illegally,” Assembly member Alan Maisel (D-Brooklyn) said. “It’s an eyesore. If they had done it the right way there would have been no hardships”

Joan Byrnes, representing State Sen. Martin Golden (R-Brooklyn), said, “If they are unable to act within the law they can file for bankruptcy.”