John Deutzman's Blog

take a look at 72nd street between 16th and 17 avenue in Bensonhurst brooklyn, it's a block of attached homes that at least 25 - 30 homovners have paved over their front yards and use them now as a place to park their cars.
These homeowners have now assured thenselves of not only a place to park in their parking pad but also a spot by the curb since most people try to not block their "driveway".
Some have created curb cuts and placed "no parking" signs up

Hi Guys,

These illegal driveways are apparently a big deal in parts of the city.

Jane,

That reminds me of an interactive TV show from the 60's called "Winky Dink". Winky Dink would get into all kinds of jams like falling out of an airplane.
Winky Dink would scream for help, they would freeze the picture and kids who had purchased their magic Winky Dink screen which covered the picture tube, could draw a parachute and save Winky Dink....However, most kids didn't buy the protective screen and wound up drawing things with magic marker on the picture tube. The show didn't last too long.

the problem is rampant in bensonhurst brooklyn, at one location 2000 (?) 85 street the guy even put up a sing no parking violators will be towed at owners expense, most apartment buildings in tne area have also made illegal curb cuts and use areas next to the buildings or center court yards to make parking lots or the allys to use as driveways

I live in Annadale, Staten Island, and one of my neighbors, who recently purchased a corner home a few doors down from me created an illegal driveway to access his back yard.

Just like the story on Fox 5 News last night about the illegal driveway in Glendale, the owner of the property put up a "No Parking Sign" and painted the curb (which has no curb cut) yellow.

I parked my car in front of this illegal driveway a couple of months ago and woke up to four slashed tires. I filed a report with the 123rd Pct. and complained to the DOT about the illegal driveway, but absolutely nothing was done about it. It seems that the owner of this property is a bigshot with the NYC Department of Sanitation.

...So much for "equal protection under the law"! I guess that the only way to get any satisfaction is to stoop down to his level and retaliate in kind!

Wow! For leaving my car double parked 60 seconds past the allowed time on an extremely wide residential street, I am fined at least 75 dollars and I get my car towed! The last time it cost me about 250 dollars to get my car back from the city run/mob impound lot at the old Lincoln Hospital site in the Bronx. But, I can deface public property and it only costs me 50 dollars! Wow! I have a neighbor who not only has painted their illegal driveway yellow, but they have chipped away the concrete of the curb to make it look like a driveway. I guess that's still cheaper than alternate street extortion. I can also explain why the police don't crack down on such things. Anything that helps them come up with an excuse to write a ticket is a good thing in their book. I still can't believe that story from Jersey last night about how writing tickets is a good way to raise money! It's true though, extortion does pay well. If only we taxpayers could write tickets to public officials and police when they screw up! We could use the extra money to stimulate the economy.

Daniel

I think I remember that, now. That must have been fun. If you're going to do it again, I'll gladly volunteer my time as one of your ticketing agents for a few hours. By the way, in any of your research with the city, have you ever uncovered any regulations that govern how long materials can be placed on a street while work is being done (ostensibly by the city) under the street? I'm just curious because I've noticed a dirt mover parked in one spot for the past week. (there are men working with it daily) and a huge stack of wood pile across the street taking up about three parking spaces. The funny thing is, the work is not being done on our street where the truck and the wood are kept, but on the corner of the adjacent street. It just strikes me as odd. I have noticed two big contractor trucks coming to the adjacent street every day, apparently working on the same project.

Daniel

Is it illegal to block parking spots with brick-filled garbage cans? I know someone who does this in order to reserve a spot for family members. He brings out the dolly and stores the garbage can by the side of his house when his relatives come home. I've contemplated breaking the dolly so that he can't move the heavy can when it's family parking time.

Haha! Good one, John. Yeah, I haven't asked any of the workers for just that reason. Concrete and dirt don't go well with my hair! Then again, maybe they could dig me out later and sell me on eBay for charity. I can see the headline now. "South Bronx curse unearthed from cable run and sold to fund homeless shelter. Details at 10."

Daniel

Hi John

I love your stories and the guts you have to get in the bad guys faces! I am a home owner and I learned alot about what makes a "Legal" driveway. I wasn't aware that painting a curb is illegal. I know of a new home across the street from me that decided from tip to tip of his property line; even though there is a fire hydrant, he painted the yellow line. And it's a 3 family. It has no curb cut. And they have 3-4 cars in front of the house. It looks like a used car lot.

John,

Thank you for the offer to investigate but I really wouldn't want him to get into trouble. However, I wouldn't have a problem with getting people I don't know into trouble. My friend drove me to her house in Flushing, Queens and I saw something similar going on there. It was a house on 23rd Avenue by the Whitestone Expressway service road. Someone had a chain tying an orange cone in the middle of the parking spot to a sidewalk-tree. The crazy lengths people go to to secure a spot... It was comical because I don't have to deal with it. This seems to be a trend everywhere in NYC because of the high car per capita.