Defund the D.O.B.

 

City Comptroller's Office

  Today, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer released an audit revealing the Department of Buildings (DOB) failed to adequately oversee complaint intake, inspection, and disposition processes for illegal curb cuts and driveways. The audit showed widespread deficiencies in DOB’s processing of complaints of illegal curb cuts and driveways, oversight and training of field inspectors, and inspections of curb cuts and driveways. The audit also found that based on a sample of 1,024 complaints made during the audit scope period, the City potentially failed to assess and collect as much as $430,014 in penalties due to DOB’s failure to adequately respond to 502 (49 percent) of those complaints. Based on a review of the total population of complaints received by DOB in the audit scope period, the audit showed that the City may have foregone as much as an additional $32,604 due to additional errors by DOB in its handling of re-inspections and filing of violations with the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings’ (OATH’S) Environmental Control Board.

“New York City’s streets and sidewalks are among our greatest public resources,” said Comptroller Stringer. “Illegal curb cuts and driveways negatively impact safety and quality of life for pedestrians and drivers alike and take away much needed sidewalk space when our city most needs it. Our audit identified significant weaknesses in the Department of Buildings enforcement of the rules that apply to curb cuts and driveways, which also cost the city tens of thousands of dollars. I urge DOB to implement our recommendations immediately and ensure that our streetscapes can serve as the public amenities they are intended to be.”

For the audit scope period, Comptroller Stringer obtained from DOB a complaint listing with 7,256 entries, of which 5,783 were individual complaints associated with 3,874 properties of potentially illegal curb cuts, driveways, and carports according to DOB’s internal reporting. For the 5,783 individual complaints received during the audit scope, DOB performed 3,238 inspections for 3,020 properties. Of these 3,238 inspections, DOB issued 1,435 OATH violations related to 1,203 properties.

Comptroller Stringer’s audit found that with respect to curb cuts and driveways, DOB did not adequately oversee its processes for responding to complaints and for issuing permits for their installation as well as deficiencies in all aspects of DOB’s complaint intake, inspection, and disposition processes. DOB lacked training for its field inspectors regarding curb cuts and driveways and did not provide sufficient supervisory oversight of their inspections. Additionally, DOB lacked controls over the issuance of violations for illegal curb cuts and driveways and DOB field inspectors did not appropriately refer all complaints that fall under other agencies’ jurisdictions to those agencies.

Bill would force illegal driveway owners to restore curbs

From Brooklyn Daily:

Local pols are pushing for a bill they say will reclaim on-street parking spaces from greedy property owners who illegally cut curbs in front of their homes to create unauthorized driveways.

The legislation, introduced last month by Councilman Kalman Yeger (D–Bensonhurst) and co-sponsored by Councilman Justin Brannan (D–Bay Ridge), would require property owners to correct curb cuts created without a permit within 30 days. If the curb isn’t fixed, the Department of Transportation must do the work within six months, at the property owner’s expense, similar to a law that requires property owners to maintain sidewalk defects.

“What we’re saying is that if you do not fix the curb, the city will fix it and bill you,” Yeger said. “It requires the government to help the people out a bit.”

The bill is a response to property owners who illegally cut curbs to install driveways in front of their homes, removing on-street parking for fellow drivers. Illegal curb cutting has become rampant throughout Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights, and Bay Ridge recently, leading fed-up neighbors to complain that current laws aren’t doing enough to address the problem.

The Department of Buildings can issue violations to property owners who cut curbs without a permit, but there isn’t a law on the books that requires owners to restore the curbs. Yeger’s bill would change that, giving the city the power it needs to fight back where it currently has little, according to Marnee Elias-Pavia, district manager of Community Board 11.

Brooklyn CB is fighting back against illegal curb cuts

From Brooklyn Daily:

The mayor must step in to force city agencies to crack down on selfish Bensonhurst homeowners who take away already-scarce street parking spots by illegally cutting their curbs and paving their front lawns into driveways, according to the neighborhood’s district manager.

“The [Buildings] violations are all bark, no bite,” said Marnee Elias-Pavia.

Pavia sent Hizzoner Community Board 11’s recommendations for how agencies should punish offending homeowners in an April 18 letter after board members unanimously adopted the resolution to do so at its April 12 general meeting. In the letter, Pavia outlined the decades-old problem and its environmental impact — made worse by the fact that the Federal Emergency Management Agency classified some affected areas as particularly susceptible to flooding, which the proliferation of concrete and lack of grass promotes, she wrote.

“Our topography creates a bowl effect and prevents tidal and storm water absorption,” she wrote. “We must address the lack of absorption created by the removal of front yards in the northern portion of the district to increase absorption and resiliency.”

CB11 demands that the buildings agency make inspecting and even re-inspecting properties with alleged illegal curb cuts and driveways a higher priority — especially for flood zones — and to notify the community board when properties receive violations for illegal curb cuts or driveways. The letter also wants the city to improve inter-agency communication by having the Department of Buildings coordinate with agencies in charge of roads, parks and environmental concerns.

“There needs to be a sharing of information [among the agencies] — there’s an environmental impact, so the Department of Buildings should be sharing with the Parks Department,

Pavia also wrote that the city should increase and enforce fines for violations, push homeowners to use permeable pavements on legitimate driveways to help drain stormwater, and require homeowners to fix curb-cut violations before selling their properties — among other suggestions.

Illegal driveways continue to get built

From the NY Post:

Brazen Brooklyn residents are selfishly paving illegal driveways on their front lawns and creating unauthorized curb cuts — eliminating scarce parking spots.

“Most of them I’ve seen go from a lawn to a driveway overnight,” fumed Michael Buhse, 55, who lives on 79th Street between 19th and 20th avenues in Bensonhurst, where the problem is especially bad.

Buhse says he sometimes gets home from work at 1 a.m. and has to drive around for 30 minutes or more to find an open parking space.

Some homeowners cut the curb themselves, but most just drive over the short curbs onto freshly paved-over lawns — and then pitch a fit when anyone parks at the curb and blocks them in.

Worse still, the NYPD has no record of which driveways are legitimate.

So if a motorist parks at a curb and blocks an illegal driveway and the homeowner calls the cops, officers will ticket the car and force the driver to fight it in court, NYPD sources told The Post.

Woodhaven's paving problem

From CBS 2:

Officials said the main reason paving over your yard is banned is so residential areas have green space.

Residents said another reason for the zoning change is so there would be proper drainage after a rain fall — preventing water from flowing from a driveway into the street.

A problem because although some of the converted driveways aren’t eliminating curbs, they are limiting parking.

Homeowners posted ‘no parking’ signs so people won’t block their illegal driveways.

Enforcing parking restrictions in residential zones

From the Queens Chronicle:

Just as President Eisenhower worried about the “falling domino” principle that would spread Soviet influence in Indochina, Maria Becce of the Broadway-Flushing Homeowners Association is concerned that a few instances of illegal parking practices in her neighborhood will become widespread.

“One house does it and it’s a domino effect,” she said. “We have three active complaints; one seems to have been resolved. We don’t want it to be 30.”

Broadway-Flushing, with its well-preserved Tudor Revival homes and cavernous lawns, is a rare breed of Queens neighborhood. With a large portion of it protected by the Rickert-Finlay Covenant, a deed restriction that limits homes to single-family usage that is not enforced by the Department of Buildings, the homeowners association must litigate to preserve the rule, and its members are vigilant about notifying city agencies and elected officials when they see misconduct of any kind in the neighborhood.

The DOB issued violations in October for the creation of an unpermitted parking pad at 35-69 168 St., an apartment building, according to a spokesman for the agency. Violations were also given for not complying with area parking regulations and work without a permit.

The agency also gave a violation at 35-66 165 St. for the illegal usage of the side yard as a parking lot in December. The Chronicle saw three cars in the property’s side yard on Wednesday.

And at 35-28 163 St., where a car was parked on pavers in the front yard when the Chronicle went to the site on Wednesday, the DOB issued a violation in October for not complying with a residential district’s parking regulations.

To curb cut or not to curb cut?

From PIX11:

Martin Grillo can't believe after decades of serving the city, he says he now has to fight for a driveway to his home.

Grillo has been a paramedic in New York City for 38 years.

He was there on 9/11 and he helped victims who lost their homes to flood waters during Hurricane Sandy.

While he was helping, his home was being ravaged by flood waters.

Now, as part of the Build-it-Back Program, he says, the city promised him a curb-cut driveway that would flow underneath his home to his door.

"I have good and bad days. I can't always walk. I need this driveway," Grillo said.

After 9/11, he has trouble breathing and walking. A driveway would make it easier for him to get in and out if his home, and help him with parking.

"Why don't they just do what they said they would do?" Grillo said.

But after more than a year battling several city agencies, he says he is getting no action and no respect.

Large parking lot created on sidewalk

There are a bunch of complaints for this house at 161-04 Sanford Avenue, but let's focus on the driveway permits, since that's been a theme lately. Looks like they were stopped in 2007, but resumed work shortly after:

Take a look at the Google Street View. It's a doozy!

Same old story in Bayside

Another nasty parking situation in Bayside.

This property has had multiple complaints about a variety of issues.

They got banged for the curb cut back in 2009, but nothing was done about it.

Illegal curb cuts need to be curbed

From DNA Info:

A Queens neighborhood is the king of illegal curb cut complaints.

South Richmond Hill logged more than 200 complaints of illegal curb cuts or driveways, double the amount from last year, and far higher than any other neighborhood in New York, according to an analysis of 311 data.

Illegal curb cuts often arise in neighborhoods far from Manhattan where many homeowners have cars. Rather than trying to find street parking every day, some residents opt to cut the curb, remove lawns and create their own driveway — without getting permission from the city.

Brooklyn residents recorded the highest number of complaints this year, with 822 — nearly 10 percent of them logged in Bath Beach and Bensonhurst. Queens, which has about 300,000 fewer residents than Brooklyn, came in as a close second citywide, with 760 complaints.

Illegal conversions are number one DOB complaint

From the Forum:

It seems that Queens continues to keep the city Department of Buildings very busy.

That was the story Tuesday night at the Community Board 9 meeting as DOB officials detailed how active the borough is with complaints, inspections and penalties.

“In the city, there were 278 access warrants [filed] last fiscal year,” said Anthony Iuliano, director of intergovernmental affairs for the DOB, referring to building-inspection documents, “Two hundred seventy two were in Queens.”

Iuliano also noted that illegal curb cuts remain an issue throughout the borough.

“[Homeowners] have to correct the condition,” he explained, adding that property owners can have curb cuts installed as long as they adhere to codes or resolutions. “Legalize it, or remove it.”

Still, the most pressing DOB issue in Queens is illegal dwelling conversions, Iuliano said. Of all borough building-condition complaints made via the city’s 311 system, more than half are for illegal conversions.

Google Street View reveals Ciafone-mobile

31-76 38th Street. This one grabs attention not for illegal signs hanging off the building, but because John Ciafone's campaign van is parked on the paved-over front lawn and sticking out onto the sidewalk. The curb cut was unauthorized as well. The joke of it all is that Ciafone's wife, Gina Argento, paid a $500 fine and the issue was marked "resolved" after legalization papers were filed. The fact that the illegal driveway led to an illegal parking pad was not an issue, I suppose.

Squatter's paradise

Well, well, look what we have here. A corner property at 62-02 60 Place all boarded up. I wonder what the hell happened? It doesn't look burnt, but it's a hot mess for sure.
DOB records reveal that there are complaints about squatters/kids breaking in at night, work without a permit, illegal curb cut.
There's also a partial vacate order after the inspector found illegal conversion throughout the building. Good luck getting a response to your notice, DOB.

It earned its stripes

Miss Heather found a doozy of a house on Judge Street in Elmhurst recently. I wonder if the guy who painted Doughboy Park lives here...

I especially like the parking on the front lawn (illegal) where there is no curb cut (illegal). Take a look at Google Maps and see that the whole block is apparently doing it. Enforcement? Pshhhaw!

Increased fines proposed for curb painting

From the NY Times:

It is an urban pastime borne out of scarcity, ingenuity and an abiding faith that no one is paying attention.

There is an obstacle: New Yorkers cannot always retain their favored parking spaces.

And there is a solution: Paint the curb or street, as a private citizen, to discourage others from parking. The maneuver is illegal, but often worth the risk as residents wager that enforcement agents and fellow drivers never catch on.

But with the practice spreading in recent years, according to 311 complaints, the city’s Transportation Department has proposed a sizable deterrent: quintupling the fine for “street defacement” to $250, from $50 — where it has stood for more than 20 years.

The department said complaints had doubled, to more than 1,300 annually, in the last five years, often prompted by a curb painted yellow or a resident or business scrawling “No Parking” on the street or sidewalk.

Illegal curb cut & driveway in Elmhurst

"The above pictures are taken from my mother’s neighbor’s home (54-01 80th Street – at the corner of 54th Avenue). He actually created this driveway. He painted the curb yellow, created a concrete ribbon driveway, and has a sign “No Parking.” Totally illegal. He parks commercial vehicles from his fish business in the backyard. The DOB does not respond to complaints filed. It’s not a priority and they will not take additional complaints until the other complaints have been investigated. The complaints were filed in January 2012. So, we get to look at the commercial box trucks decorated with graffiti, along with the exhaust fumes leaking into the rear bedroom windows at 4:30 a.m. Monday-Saturday.

Maybe someone can help us on your end. Thank you, kindly." - anonymous

Elmhurst is not alone.

Woman parks legally, gets ticket

From NY1:

It's a totally bogus parking ticket, and driver Helen Dellaporte says the city doesn't care.

“$95 for a parking ticket for blocking a driveway that's not even there,” says Dellaporte.

That's what Dellaporte was slapped with when she parked her car in a legal spot right in front of an illegal driveway.

“My parents own this house since 1965, there's never been a driveway there. Because the curb looks low, they assumed that it was a driveway and they built an overhead door,” says Dellaporte.

The owner called the police to report their driveway was blocked and Dellaporte was ticketed.

“When I go to fight the ticket online, they say I don't have sufficient evidence. I go to my community board, they researched it with the Department of Buildings, gave me a letter to send to the appeal unit for the parking ticket,” says Dellaporte.

She still lost her appeal.

“There's no legal driveway, but I'm still stuck paying a $95 parking ticket,” says Dellaporte.

NY1 called DOB and confirmed the space is an illegal driveway.

Illegal curb cuts cause nuisance

From the Brooklyn Paper:

Bay Ridge’s legendary parking problem is in the crosshairs of residents who say the city needs to punish the people who literally steal the few available spots.

Illegal driveways persist in the neighborhood’s residential areas and illegal valet parking infects its commercial strips, so residents are declaring that it’s time the city starts attacking those that cause the problem, and stop going after those that are victims of it.

To stop illegal curb cuts — where a homeowner adds a driveway to his house without a permit — the city needs to be able to fire back at the offending homeowner.

“The city should have a right to come in and repair it, then [make the homeowner pay] double the cost,” said Steve Harrison, the chair of Community Board 10’s zoning committee. “And if you put one in illegally, and it could have been legal, you then shouldn’t be allowed to put one in at all.”

Presently, the city can only fine the offender, but not force him to undo the damage. Worse, added Harrison, motorists who block the illegal driveways end up with tickets because police don’t know the curb cut shouldn’t be there. In that case, Harrison says the homeowner should be responsible for that ticket — and then some.

“I really believe the homeowner should pay that,” he said. “And maybe double.”

And illegally valet parked cars need to be ticketed as well.

Doris Cruz, the chairwoman of CB10’s transportation committee, thinks that business that use valet parking services are less likely to be ticketed for double-parking, and blocking driveways and fire hydrants than drivers who do the same thing.

Clamping down on illegal curb cuts

Drivers ticketed for parking by illegal curb cuts

From the Bronx Times:

When Morris Park resident Christina Bonelli received a $115 parking ticket on April 30, she just knew it wasn’t right.

Bonelli’s ticket was for obstruction of a driveway in front of 1568 Colden Avenue, across from her home on the same street. But she noticed that there was no drivewy at that spot, so she challenged the ticket.

“I knew it was wrong because even the person who was with me said, ‘Send in a Not Guilty right away because there’s not supposed to be a driveway here.’ Many houses that used to have gardens in the front, they have curbs that were cut, but shouldn’t have been. And with this spot, there was a tree in the middle of the parking space, so I was parked in front of a legitimate spot, where there couldn’t possibly be a driveway.”

Bonelli, 57, who works for the Board of Education, recruited her son to take photos of the location, and she wrote a detailed complaint letter with bullet points outlining her certainty that the curb should not have been cut because there was no driveway there, and thus her spot was a legal parking space.

Bonelli received word back from the NYC Department of Finance that she could pay a reduced fine of $59 — about half of the original ticket price, if she pled guilty.

“That still wasn’t fair,” she insisted. “I felt I should get the whole ticket waived.”

Bonelli took her problem to Senator Jeff Klein’s office. After some calls, they learned that if Bonelli appealed the summonsand lost, she would also lose the reduced fine offer and would have to pay the full amount.

It was a risk she was willing to take, because she felt sure she was right. Klein’s office helped her obtain copies of the property’s Certificate of Occupancy, which showed there was no legal driveway at the location. Her photos also helped.

Finally, this summer, the Department of Finance sent a letter to Klein stating that Bonelli’s ticket was dismissed completely.

Bonelli is elated to have avoided the ticket, but says her experience is a sign of a larger problem.

“My biggest gripe was that when the traffic agent was called by someone and came and saw my car, he should have said, ‘There’s a tree here, so there can’t be a driveway.’ But nope, they still issued the ticket.”

“The ticketing that is going on in our area is out of control,” she continued. “I’ve seen cars towed away unfairly. You can’t even step out of the car and they put a ticket on your windshield. It’s crazy that the Mayor got rid of cops and teachers, but hired 750 new traffic agents.”