Saturday, December 31, 2016

Big bill for sidewalk repair


From PIX11:

Patrica Appelt-Coraci and her 88-year-old mom Gladys both grew up in the house Gladys still owns on 77th Road in Flushing.

About a year ago, Gladys received a notice from the city that the sidewalk in front of the house needed to be repaired. Gladys let it go.

In New York, even if the city owns the public sidewalk in front of a home, it’s the homeowner who is responsible for maintaining it.

So when Gladys ignored the notice, the city stepped in to make the repairs. Then sent her the bill.

And what a bill it was!

"$362,000 and change," according to Patricia.

$362,077 to be exact.

17 comments:

JQ LLC said...

It's absurd that they brow-beated that mother and daughter to repair the sidewalk and they leave a spot where Howard walked on filled with cracks and crevices as is.

Anonymous said...

This as all of the illegal building continues throughout Flushing while the city's DOB looks the other way....

Anonymous said...

Yet another wasted opportunity to make the bums responsible.

She should have called 311, her councilman, her community board, and written to the letters to the editors in the Queens weeklies, recorded their inevitable lack of response, and shared this with Crappie.

People, if you want change, you are going to have to overcome your fear of speaking out. If you don't, why should anyone care how you are treated.

BTW, is it not funny that developers never have this problem?

Anonymous said...

$3 thousand is still way too much for repairing a problem the city likely CAUSED, notice the new tree pits adjacent to the repaired sidewalk?

(sarc) said...

They must have used Union Labor...

Anonymous said...

Typical city billing nonsense. There is no city employee with an ounce of common sense. How could someone not have noticed this bill? Is there no flag for such a high amount? Are there so many people hundreds of thousands of dollars in arrears that this is just commonplace?

Ridiculous.

20 days until the Age of Trump!

Anonymous said...

What did the city repair it with diamonds and rubies?
They want her property!
Most likely to allow it to be bought by some council member's developer fried to develop it.
What's the zoning allowing in that area?
What a gouge job!
Even a mafia cement pourer wouldn't charge the old lady that much.
Start preparing for a citizens' revolution...which is long overdue.
Sharpen y our pitchforks. Stock pile the tar and feathers. Run you crooked incumbent pols out of city hall on a rail!
Make sure that dynastic political mafioso Paul Vallone is one of them!

Anonymous said...

The whole sidewalk program is ridiculous. Look at the side walk next door that didn't need to be repaired.

Anonymous said...

I've never understood why the city gets to put responsibility for this on private citizens. If it is a public passageway, why are private homeowners responsible for it? But if you are responsible, then why can't you treat it as an extension of your house and do what you want with it?

Anonymous said...

And, can you blame the DOB for looking the other way, when that is exactly the failed leadership model that their crooked, corrupt and intensely incompetent mayor OPENLY PRACTICES, IMPOSES and FOISTS upon our ever languishing rank and file with every hour of the day, with a vengeful impunity that is unprecedented, to date?

So, if there are no consequences at the top of City Hall psychopathy, then why should the DOB bust a nut, when bribery, cover-ups, kickbacks and payoffs are so much easier——just ask de Blasio——the greatest public service impostor (and extreme derelict) of them all!

JimmyMK said...

$800 sidewalk job costed $3,600 ... Jesus Fuckin Christ!! ... This is why nothing gets done anymore!

Anonymous said...

Again, as long as you go to great lengths to state the obvious failures of the system, yet hold no one PUBLICLY ACCOUNTABLE that is LOCAL, nothing will happen.

Communities that do this (as in Brooklyn or Manhattan) get a lot further than in Queens, where we all just go around in circles fearful that if we say something impolite to our ruling class no one will like us.

And being liked is sooo important in Queens.

Anonymous said...

Howard's on-air report is not exactly clear on this point – The homeowner was still required to pay $3,620?

Anonymous said...

talk about cracks. the city employee who made the error was smoking it and shopping online at the same time. thanks to another union member these women would have lost their homes.

Anonymous said...

To second Anonymous, who advises to call 311, city councilman, newspapers, etc. I already called the worthless system of 311 (repeatedly, with half a dozen case numbers that were never adjudicated), as well as my derelict, incompetent and tone deaf city councilman, assemblyman, state senator, congressman and Community Board 10, and despite repeated calls since 2007, my damaged curb is STILL unrepaired on THIS, the first day of 2017!

They can all go rotate. I'm not giving this crooked administration a red cent, when it took the DOT minutes to destroy my street curb——and, nearly 10 years later it doesn't faze them in the least to repair their own damage. If they don't care, then why should I?

What truly saddens (and angers) me is how ALL politicians turned Queens into a toxic cesspool, when it used to be such a beautiful NYC borough of vast, open spaces, parks (and the borough of cemeteries, as it was known), and quality of life that was unprecedented, that is sadly no more. In fact, the cemeteries are ironically the ONLY place for peace and rest (and no taxes!)——but, as always, such an arrangement comes with 'grave' consequences!

Joe said...

I have several friends in Maspeth who received these harassment violation notices for sidewalk repair, the mayor is especially harassing them. These violation notices included the price you will be socked with (its called disclosure and usually always around $3500)the city will be billing when you don't fix the problem in 45 days.
Why did the homeowners ignore $3,650 violation notices or even the notice as a reference to show the typo mistake ? Personally I think these news-people enjoyed making the story sensational to put themselves on a pedestal for ratings. Where is the original violation notice ? Are violation notices now different in Flushing VS Maspeth or no longer required to disclose the cost (disclosure laws) ?

Sidewalk patching: The trick is to correctly level and patch cracks before winter freeze comes. If not cracks only get worse and eventually shift whole slabs. Do on a holiday or weekend. Select the proper mix and add color powder to the cement so it blends and the city don't bother you. If the patch is still to bright & noticeable acid wash it. This will remove the lime off top this aging and blending it. Dirt and rain will do the rest.

Carlo said...

"$800 sidewalk job costed $3,600"

Ha Ha LOL. Buddy its $800 just to bring the concrete truck and 3 local XX men to the sight. Not including the actual pore and crews doing the demo, carting, prep work & finishing for that pore.
The city only does complete slabs, and in "Racketeer City" 1 slab or 3 you are still getting billed for 1 SQ yard concrete minimum regardless.
Sometimes if its the last job of the day you can "feel things out" with the proper code of conduct. Ask they want coffee, short chat about family and kids in college and "tip" with an envelope of cash. Get all 6 slabs or your whole sidewalk replaced for a little extra money (just don't insult anybody)
Then its worth it !!