Street tree destroyed, but Parks doesn't care

The description contained in the montage put together by a reader says it all. What looks to be a recently planted street tree was removed for a driveway.

For the record, DOB didn't see anything wrong here, either.

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.

North Flushing parking fiasco

Dear QueensCrapper,

Some months ago there were postings on Queens Crap about cars being parked on the sidewalks in Queens. It saddens me to send you some photos taken over the last twelve months, the most recent photo taken a couple of days ago, of cars being parked in front of a multi-family home at 165-12 and 165-14 Crocheron Avenue, North Flushing, Queens. Although the attached homes have driveways on either side, there are cars parked in the front yards and sidewalk every day. Most of the time the cars are parked on “private property” and they have probably escaped being issued parking violations by the Police Department. On other days, the cars are partially blocking the sidewalk. You will also notice in the photos that one of the homes has paved over their small “green space” while the other half of the attached home allows parking on overgrown weeds in the spring/summer and mud bearing tires marks in the fall/winter months. It may interest you to know that a gracious one family Tudor style home was torn down some years ago to construct the current multi-family dwelling that allows cars to be parked in their front yards and sidewalk. It is my opinion that not only is the homeowner(s) breaking the law by allowing cars to be parked in the front yards and sidewalk, but they are being disrespectful and inconsiderate to the community of North Flushing, whose residents take pride in maintaining their homes and property. I wonder, is the homeowner collecting “rent” from these cars? All of these cars belong parked in the street and driveway and not in front yards and sidewalks!

I strongly urge the Department of Buildings to please inspect this property and all other properties in Queens that face a similar situation.

Thank you –

Concerned homeowner in North Flushing

Illegally parked cars make Jamaica unsightly

From Cleanup Jamaica Queens:




All over Jamaica, you will see cars like above parked illegally up on the sidewalks next to shitty third world apartment buildings. Not only is this an eyesore to the community, but it breaks down the sidewalks and curbs, which then MIGHT be repaired, another place for green gets destroyed and most of these types of buildings have other issues such as garbage, rodents and questionable renters, who add NOTHING to the community, just the type of people Jamaica looks for to move into the community.

Everything you wanted to know about illegal front-yard driveways

Photo from Daily News

From the Times Newsweekly:

Is it really too much to expect fellow Woodhaven residents to follow the law, and for New York City agencies to enforce the law?

When it comes to illegal front-yard parking, it seems so.

Across the neighborhood, some residents and homeowners have paved over their front yards and started to park cars there, although it’s against the law.

The result is that concrete has often replaced grass, drivers have been steering their cars over sidewalks even when there are no curb cuts (or, worse still, have been illegally cutting the curbs themselves), and some of these law-breaking drivers have even tried to prevent others from parking in legal street spots that block their illegal parking pads.

Turning a front-yard lawn or garden into a concrete patch is unsightly and might lead to street flooding when rainwater can’t escape into soil. Driving a car up and over a curb where there’s no driveway is dangerous and contributes to a sense of disorder in the neighborhood. Disallowing others to park in legal spots is selfish and reduces the amount of legitimate parking in the neighborhood. Most importantly, all these actions violate the law.

I’m familiar with the objections from those who believe they should be able to do whatever they want with their homes. That, however, is not the way it works in New York City. With so many people living in proximity to each other, what one person does can have a big impact on neighbors or even the community as a whole.

When you pave over your yard, you contribute to the destruction of the character of your block. You hurt the values of nearby properties. And you worsen the problems I mentioned above. The United States might be the land of the free, but that doesn’t mean you’re free to do whatever you want without regard for your community or the law.

Unfortunately, the New York City Buildings Department—the agency with authority on this matter—has been slow to enforce the law and to take action against those who create illegal driveways, carports, or curb cuts in Woodhaven. For instance, I called in one violation and even provided photographic proof. Three months later, the Buildings Department hasn’t even gotten around to taking a look.

I know that these complaints aren’t their top priority. They should, rightly, be giving precedence to imminent public safety hazards, like the building collapse on 79th Street near Jamaica Avenue last month. That building had more than 30 outstanding construction violations.

But the fact remains that three months is an excessive wait for an initial investigation into an illegal driveway. It diminishes residents’ confidence in the authorities, it sends the message that those who violate the law will get away with it indefinitely, and it's unfair to the many residents who follow the law and take pride in maintaining their properties.

Moreover, these front-yard parking pads are often related to other, deeper problems requiring attention. For example, many homeowners create them because of a parking shortage stemming from another illicit behavior: illegal conversions that pack too many people into houses, thus straining city services as well as the stock of available parking spots. And some residents chop down street trees in front of their homes in order to make it easier to pull their cars into and out of illegal driveways, further adding to a less green, more concrete Woodhaven.

The streets of Woodhaven shouldn’t look like one big used car lot. Woodhaven residents should do the right thing, and if they don’t, the Buildings Department should step in and enforce the law.

Editor’s note: Blenkinsopp is member of Community Board 9 and director of communications for the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association. For additional information on the WRBA, visit www.woodhavennyc.org.