Coming in Via Email
I received a ticket the other night for parking in front of a home on Canton Court for no other reason other than retaliation for taking the owners spot. The ticket was for blocking a driveway. Which does not exist. Please Help!
Let’s be clear that this could happen anywhere in Gerritsen Beach and does not apply to just the Old Section or Canton Ct for that matter. But let’s take for instance this example 68 Canton Court – which again is just like every house – and see if we can help.
Right of bat for these tickets to be issued someone HAS to call and complain – or know a cop with a quota to fill.
The easiest way to figure out if there actually is a driveway on an address is to check the Department of Buildings website to check their Certificate of Occupancy (C of O). This house, according to their 1925 issued C of O, has a detached one car garage which would include a driveway.
As expected and just like any house in Gerritsen Beach the detached garage does not exist anymore. Somewhere between 1925 and today the garage was converted into an extension of their home – without telling the Buildings Department no less – but that’s besides the point.
However, this renders their driveway useless and upon brief inspection their “driveway” it was obviously turned into a front yard with yard like objects in the front of the home. With no room for a car this ticket seems like retaliation for taking a spot. This may be grounds for dismissal of the ticket.
Between this and the cone epidemic – As a community we seem be be lacking a great deal of common sense. We seem to not know or care for our neighbors anymore. With the development of 311 we seemed to have become a city of tattle tales or rats. We call on each other without speaking to each other first.
In our humble opinion, instead of the home owner immediately calling 311, the Precinct or both, a neighbor to neighbor interaction would of been 100% better.
What is easier: Having a conversation, a polite note, or an all out war with your neighbors that would last generations?
Editorial Side Note: We did trim the e-mail a bit because it was rant-ish but mostly because it involved threats of retaliation .
NOT A FAN OF THIS SNITCHING…with addresses and photos of the home, you are begging for brawls on the blocks
This is a mind your business situation-let the neighbors deal with their own neighbors and any parking issues. Call the police or call 311-or move the cones-thats it
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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I guess now its your turn to call 311 and report the illegal construction / build out and occupancy of the building
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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I'm willing to bet the last CofO was not issued in 1925. That DOB website very rarely has the latest CofO so I'd be careful about published accusations about what is legal or not for that home if DOB online is your source.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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pay your ticket!
be quiet!
and park legally!
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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The parking in the beach has gotten out of hand. A few years ago I saw two "neighbors" get into it in the street over a parking spot. One neighbor let his dog out to attack the other. And from there if you can imagine, it just escalated. Close to 60-70 people showed up ready to brawl. It was so bad the cops had to park 2 blocks away and walk over. I can understand why people just call the police. If everyone had some common courtesy, and just parked in front of their own houses, there wouldn't be as many problems
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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You say if everyone just parked in front of their own houses, there wouldn't be as many problems. Well that's the problem.
NO ONE OWNS THE SPOT IN FRONT OF THEIR HOUSE! When I can't find a parking spot and I park in front of someones house I'm hoping it's not in front of some hot heads house. I do agree with you that I wish neighbors could have courtesy to others. Some do but unfortunately not many.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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I agree – that looks like a driveway to me and I've seen cars parked in there before. The courteous thing to do is to not park in front of someone's driveway.
You dont assume that because someone puts a couple of potted plants and a bench in the BACK of the driveway that they've given up the right to their driveway. As a matter of fact, the owner is trying to sell the home (as is obvious by the for sale sign). They've temporarily placed potted plants and a bench to show how the area can be converted to perspective buyers. I'm sorry – I like this website but the only inconsiderate snitching I see here is posting a photo of the house in question and a dubious claim that its an illegal driveway. It makes it much harder to sell your home when someone is obviously parked in front of your driveway and the local blog shouts a dubious claim of no CofO.
Let's be civil indeed.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
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I hardly call it 'altered property', they placed potted plants down and added a bench to beautify – that's what people do when they're selling a house. That driveway has been there for YEARS – with cars parked. The 'For Sale' sign is not in the picture but its been up on that property for some time now and the house has been in the Our News real estate section for weeks.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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I didn't see a for sale sign but nevertheless this was not intended to be a snitch-like post. This was intended to give public advice on a ticket that was issued.
The post does not say it was an illegal driveway – apologies if I implied that.
It was only intended to say that the driveway does not seem to exist anymore and that fact might be grounds for dismissal.
The post tried to stress that a conversation should of been happened between the parties and not "snitch" phone calls to the precinct or 311.
You should show up to court with a picture and paperwork and fight it.
I have a legal driveway and I can not tell you how often someone parks in my driveway. Try talking to them and you see how they think they should be exclusive. Ready to fight but park there the next day if they please. Call 311 or the police and by the time they show up forgetaboutit. I can not park in my own driveway because I am afraid of getting stuck in there.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Its really a shame it has come down to this!
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Is there anything that can be done about putting garbage cans or cones to hold a parking space. And what about people who paint yellow lines and don't have legal driveways? Several times when I go down Allen Ave. I see a kid hosing the street for quite awhile. It seems that his father was parked in the spot and went to the store and this is the way he was holding the spot for his father? Some people are so inconsiderate!!!
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Ahh, drivers.
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On Emmons Avenue, the Russian night Club "Heaven" used to put cones on parking spots on the avenue to save for their patrons, one of our friends got into with one of the valets for moving their cones. What freaking nerve, they aren't paying for those spots, I just said, let's call the cops and iron it out, needless to say, the fight was over then. Arrogant bastards!
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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I thought it was ILLEGAL to park in front of your own driveway! My neighbor got a summons for parking across his driveway just last week.
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Your neighbor should fight that ticket. It IS legal to park in front of your own driveway as long as you own the home.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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The only way you should get a summons for blocking a driveway is if some occupying the building where the driveway is makes a complaint and then that person's name should appear on the summon's as the complainant
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or if you block the sidewalk.
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Inconsiderate is when cars are left on the sidewalk in front of your home. Even blocking the steps to the entrence. The best part is the argument you get when you politely ask for the car to moved. The car does get moved but still remains on the sidewalk and now blocks yor driveway.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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if it looks like a driveway just find a different spot. why must people challenge everything.
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Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
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We had the same problem with a neighbor about four years ago and we politely asked her and her family not to park in our legal driveway but they continued to do so. In addition, they have several cars and took up all the parking on the block. It became an all out war with her daughter threatening me. I called the police and had a summons issued. No one has parked there again!
The parking in Gerritsen Beach is not that bad. People are just too lazy to walk a few feet. Try living in Queens where you have to park your car 8 blocks away!
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First of all, I think its completely rude to have a picture and mention the address of this familys home. As well as creep around their house to see what they have in their yard. ie bench and plants. That is complete invasion of privacy. Second of all, maybe you should really investigate before you write your articles because the people in this home do in fact park in their driveway. Even if its not "legally a driveway" the family still parks their car there, and I'm sure whoever parked infront of the driveway lives on that block and knows that the family parks their car in the driveway, but they were too lazy to walk a few extra feet. This website just gets more and more ridiculous. Its beyond me why a grown MAN must snoop around Gerritsen Beach taking pictures of teenagers (ie. in your latest article about Halloween) without parental permission and homes without the owners permission. I think it is pathetic and maybe you should really get a life instead of creeping on other peoples lives. Delete this is you want but im sure i am not the only person in Gerritsen Beach who thinks that this "website" and the "editor" is a joke.
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[...] everywhere a quick search for parking on GerritsenBeach.net found notes being left on cars, illegal driveways, lots of cones. Now the issue has come up of Yellow Curbs [...]
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