Friday, May 27, 2011

Case dismissed, garden stays?

From the Queens Courier:

At a dead end in Whitestone, a colorful garden encircled by stone extends from the fence of a mustard-colored stucco home and into the middle of a city street.

The property owner of the house, located at 148-12 on 2nd Avenue, was issued a summons by the Department of Transportation (DOT) on April 1, 2010, that found the projections, including the garden and the fence, impinge on city property.

The department ordered homeowner Rocco Sacco to remove the structures. After failing to comply, he was issued three more summonses over a period of several months. But, the matter dates back much further.

At the Environmental Control Board (ECB) hearing held on May 4, 2011, a DOT representative affirmed the charges against Sacco comprised of four violations for “encroaching on city property” by building a fence on the sidewalk and a garden in the street.

However, Sacco’s representative, Carl Sulfaro, contested the violations, saying that Sacco did not plant the garden, does not have jurisdiction over it and does not own it, according to the ECB hearing document.

After the DOT representative presented photos and a property information sheet of the site, Administrative Law Judge Loriann Hellmann found that the DOT did not meet its burden to show that the encroachments were either on city property or out of the bounds of Sacco’s property. She also found that the DOT failed to show that Sacco actually planted the garden on the street.

Hellmann dismissed all four violations. The DOT now has 30 days to appeal this ruling.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Little greenmen put it there

Anonymous said...

A garden is always preferable to asphalt but....mamma mia....that pretentious pallazzo stu catzzo behind it is some guinea whopper!

Anonymous said...

A garden is always preferable to asphalt but....mamma mia....that pretentious pallazzo stu catzzo behind it is some guinea whopper!

Anonymous said...

Google Street View shows a tree in the middle of that garden plot. I'd love to know who removed it. Who maintains this garden if Sacco doesn't? Who removed the tree? If the city removed it, why didn't the "owner" fight it? If the "owner" removed it, why didn't the city have something to say about removing it from city property?

Sacco sounds like a lying Sacco shit.

Anonymous said...

Someone got paid off

Anonymous said...

God forbid someone takes pride of the street where they live. What is the city going to put there anyway? this is so stupid, how about they give tickets to everyone walking there dogs leaving poop everywhere instead?

Anonymous said...

God forbid someone takes pride of the street where they live. What is the city going to put there anyway? this is so stupid, how about they give tickets to everyone walking there dogs leaving poop everywhere instead?

Sounds like you greasy Italian(s) are trying to divert attention away from the topic at hand.

Anonymous said...

So much for Greenstreets.

Anonymous said...

ROCCO ROCKS.....

the center medians at 42nd avenue, from F.L Blvd. to the Clrvw. Expy would look lovely too if the D.O.T. would fix and raise the curbing,so no vehicle could park on them.

but it is obvious that the D.O.T. wanted Rocco's lovely flower garden to look like crap, similar to the medians at Auburndale/Bayside .

Q.C. recently focused on the Auburndale/Bayside medians,but the one which the Baptist Church maintained was pictured. the others have been worked on by residents in past years, but they gave up because of inconsiderate parkers on the medians.

Anonymous said...

Parkers on the medians? Really? I rarely, if ever, see this phenomenon. Pictures or it doesn't happen.

Anyway, what do the medians have to do with this? Rocco or "someone" built a garden in the middle of the street. Where there shouldn't. Where if someone hits it with there car and it causes damage, it's on city property. A legal nightmare. A snow plow could destroy it in about 3 seconds. Someone could trip over the boarder and sue the city - but the city didn't put it there.

Wake the eff up, crappy readers.

Derdi Verdi's said...

You guys think Sacco is pulling dirty moves on 2nd Ave? Haha! Check out (or for your own health, dont check out) Verdi's Catering Hall, where the Sacco's are leaving thier sacc in everything! So grimy the grease spills onto the Cross Island Expressway! Dirtyyyy

Anonymous said...

on 42nd avenue from 201 street to 205st street, fed ex,ups,lawn trucks,private vehicles and 30-35 yellow school buses for the 50 special ed. pupils,fully or partially park on the medians each week.

these violators should be made to pay for the refurbishing of the medians.

the schools are now closed for the summer.
check back in 9/12/02. but the area residents and motorists are affected 180 days ( twice a day) by the inconsiderate bus drivers and C.S.B.25, at P.S.130Q.

in fact when the d.o.t./highways asphalted the avenue , the workers parked THEIR CARS on the medians??????

Anonymous said...

How about giving violations for all the greedy landlords in Astoria who have extended their backyards illegally into Community Driveways and destroyed their sewers so that others flood their basements?

Ever think about that Helen Marshall & Vallone & Bloomburg & Quinnbitch?

Hah? You could fix the city's budget with these fines alone. You're all corrupt.

Anonymous said...

Know who rocco's brother is??

Anonymous said...

They should put ate same thing the city put at Queens Plaza. F*ck the Dot