Curb Cuts and Parking Woes
I dont know if anyone else has experienced this in recent times, but the parking scenario on the street is just getting worse.
As someone who lives on Willoughby betn Washington and Waverly, I find it difficult to get parking most nights of the week.
Two major issues that I have are
1) People either dont know how to park or are too f#%! ignorant or arrogant to do it properly. Many a times I have seen the last car before a street intersection parked at least 7-10 feet away from the white line. As a result a whole parking spot gets wasted on the block. people also park leaving huge gaps on the front and back. I know that at times people dont do it purposely and a larger car moves out in front and a smaller car parks and all of a sudden there is a gap.
However I have noticed on my block, many a times that a car pulls in and will purposely park leaving too much space on the front and back. At times I have gone and pointed it out to the driver exiting the car, only to get hostile testy remarks.
2) Homeowners are painting yellow strips on curb cuts and claiming them as such even where none exist. The biggest offender in this is the series of curb cuts on Waverly between willoughby and dekalb. There are some coach houses, and the homeowners there (nasty rude lot!) have painted curb cuts along the whole sidewalk. Is there a way that one can find out what are the precise curb cuts ?? If I can get that info from a government agency, then I will file a complaint with the city. I have already documented the same in photographs but cannot find the source to get the exact curb cuts.
I have had my car towed away from there once because the homeowner there claimed that I was parked in front of her garage opening. She was extremely arrogant and rude and threatened police action and arrest if I parked again !! Arrest...WTF !!
At the same time, there are some cars that are always parked infront of the garage and never get towed. So it seems like they park both inside and outside too. Or maybe they are partial to their friends and families. A call to 311 the next time I see this should be interesting.
What are your thoughts. I realize that this sounds as a rant, but believe me its frustrating every single day to come across these nuisances when I have to park my car at night.
As someone who lives on Willoughby betn Washington and Waverly, I find it difficult to get parking most nights of the week.
Two major issues that I have are
1) People either dont know how to park or are too f#%! ignorant or arrogant to do it properly. Many a times I have seen the last car before a street intersection parked at least 7-10 feet away from the white line. As a result a whole parking spot gets wasted on the block. people also park leaving huge gaps on the front and back. I know that at times people dont do it purposely and a larger car moves out in front and a smaller car parks and all of a sudden there is a gap.
However I have noticed on my block, many a times that a car pulls in and will purposely park leaving too much space on the front and back. At times I have gone and pointed it out to the driver exiting the car, only to get hostile testy remarks.
2) Homeowners are painting yellow strips on curb cuts and claiming them as such even where none exist. The biggest offender in this is the series of curb cuts on Waverly between willoughby and dekalb. There are some coach houses, and the homeowners there (nasty rude lot!) have painted curb cuts along the whole sidewalk. Is there a way that one can find out what are the precise curb cuts ?? If I can get that info from a government agency, then I will file a complaint with the city. I have already documented the same in photographs but cannot find the source to get the exact curb cuts.
I have had my car towed away from there once because the homeowner there claimed that I was parked in front of her garage opening. She was extremely arrogant and rude and threatened police action and arrest if I parked again !! Arrest...WTF !!
At the same time, there are some cars that are always parked infront of the garage and never get towed. So it seems like they park both inside and outside too. Or maybe they are partial to their friends and families. A call to 311 the next time I see this should be interesting.
What are your thoughts. I realize that this sounds as a rant, but believe me its frustrating every single day to come across these nuisances when I have to park my car at night.
Comments
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That sucks man. Surely there are guidelines for curb cuts? I mean, can anyone just go and paint their curb yellow?
What did 311 say? -
1. A yellow line on the curb has no legal meaning in NYC.
2. If there is no actual curb cut/driveway, parking is regulated by signs and/or hydrants, etc. Someone painting a line on the curb in front of their property has no legal authority.
3. a specific permit is required to install a new curb cut and/or driveway. (I have no idea what the criteria is for approving them, but you can't just decide you want a driveway and chop up the curb.)
4. It is perfectly legal to block your own driveway. Because of this, the only time a ticket is written for a blocked driveway is when the property owner calls cops to complain. So, yeah, they do get to park there or let their friends park there if they want.
BTW, while you can get a ticket for blocking the curb cut, you won't get one for infringing on the "yellow line" someone chooses to extend 4' beyond the curb cut. (unless there's some other parking regulation you're breaking by being there.) -
This will give you some info on curb cuts.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/downloads/pdf/curbcuts.pdf
You can probably call 311 or the DOB is you think its an illegal curb cut, and like mentioned above, yellow paint on a curb means nothing. You can even get a ticket/towed if you park outside of the yellow paint at a hydrant but are still closer than 15 feet. -
Subject: Re: Curb Cuts and Parking Woes
arZan wrote: I have had my car towed away from there once because the homeowner there claimed that I was parked in front of her garage opening. She was extremely arrogant and rude and threatened police action and arrest if I parked again !! Arrest...WTF !!
So were you in front of her garage? or just the yellow curb? -
On a similar tangent -- is there any kind of parking regulation for parking a car across a sidewalk?...there's a van owner who regularly parks near Little House on Clinton in this way -- there's a driveway there, and if it's full, he just parks ON the sidewalk behind the last car in the driveway. He does try to leave some room for pedestrians, but...not a lot.
-
Subject: Re: Curb Cuts and Parking Woes
Boygabriel wrote:
Yellow Curb.
So were you in front of her garage? or just the yellow curb?
Tried to dispute it but to no avail. The judge threw it out because he wanted photographic proof.
By his logic, I should now take pics everytime I park just so in case something happens. Serious lunatics work in the government, I tell you. -
queencallipygos wrote: On a similar tangent -- is there any kind of parking regulation for parking a car across a sidewalk?...there's a van owner who regularly parks near Little House on Clinton in this way -- there's a driveway there, and if it's full, he just parks ON the sidewalk behind the last car in the driveway. He does try to leave some room for pedestrians, but...not a lot.
Call up 311 immediately and give them the address. They have tow trucks whizzing around all the time and will come and tow the van away before the yahoo can even open his mouth to scream "NO !!" -
Anonymous wrote: [quote=queencallipygos]On a similar tangent -- is there any kind of parking regulation for parking a car across a sidewalk?...there's a van owner who regularly parks near Little House on Clinton in this way -- there's a driveway there, and if it's full, he just parks ON the sidewalk behind the last car in the driveway. He does try to leave some room for pedestrians, but...not a lot.
Call up 311 immediately and give them the address. They have tow trucks whizzing around all the time and will come and tow the van away before the yahoo can even open his mouth to scream "NO !!"
That's brilliant help cause that wanker does that quite frequently I've noticed. -
Subject: Re: Curb Cuts and Parking Woes
Anonymous wrote: [quote=Boygabriel]
Yellow Curb.
So were you in front of her garage? or just the yellow curb?
Tried to dispute it but to no avail. The judge threw it out because he wanted photographic proof.
By his logic, I should now take pics everytime I park just so in case something happens. Serious lunatics work in the government, I tell you.
damn man, that sucks.
if home owners paint the yellow, not the city, how on earth is that justification for towing? -
Oops
Just realized that the above two comments by Guest are by me. I guess I had logged out and not back in before I posted. -
The gripe about the inconsiderate parking ( deliberately leaving too much space between cars) - it's almost as if you're quoting me, although with considerably fewer expletives. This is making me CRAZY- and 9 times out of 10 when I POLITELY suggest that the driver pull up to make room for our other car-owning neighbors I get attitude. And I mean SERIOUS attitude.
I've stopped mentioning it after our windsheild wipers were solen- I'm afraid I'm getting a reputation and the backlash might be more than it's worth.
But seriously- these self-centered trolls are like a poisonous plague and it just gets my blood boiling. -
Subject: Re: Curb Cuts and Parking Woes
arZan wrote: I dont know if anyone else has experienced this in recent times, but the parking scenario on the street is just getting worse.
(1) I've seen some people deliberately leave space, I call them car worshippers because I can only assume they do that so that their precious bumper doesnt get scratched by the next car that parks in front/behind them! Seriously, if they worship their cars so much, shouldnt they consider parking in a garage? Very annoying to see.
As someone who lives on Willoughby betn Washington and Waverly, I find it difficult to get parking most nights of the week.
Two major issues that I have are
1) People either dont know how to park or are too f#%! ignorant or arrogant to do it properly. Many a times I have seen the last car before a street intersection parked at least 7-10 feet away from the white line. As a result a whole parking spot gets wasted on the block. people also park leaving huge gaps on the front and back. I know that at times people dont do it purposely and a larger car moves out in front and a smaller car parks and all of a sudden there is a gap.
However I have noticed on my block, many a times that a car pulls in and will purposely park leaving too much space on the front and back. At times I have gone and pointed it out to the driver exiting the car, only to get hostile testy remarks.
2) Homeowners are painting yellow strips on curb cuts and claiming them as such even where none exist. The biggest offender in this is the series of curb cuts on Waverly between willoughby and dekalb. There are some coach houses, and the homeowners there (nasty rude lot!) have painted curb cuts along the whole sidewalk. Is there a way that one can find out what are the precise curb cuts ?? If I can get that info from a government agency, then I will file a complaint with the city. I have already documented the same in photographs but cannot find the source to get the exact curb cuts.
I have had my car towed away from there once because the homeowner there claimed that I was parked in front of her garage opening. She was extremely arrogant and rude and threatened police action and arrest if I parked again !! Arrest...WTF !!
At the same time, there are some cars that are always parked infront of the garage and never get towed. So it seems like they park both inside and outside too. Or maybe they are partial to their friends and families. A call to 311 the next time I see this should be interesting.
What are your thoughts. I realize that this sounds as a rant, but believe me its frustrating every single day to come across these nuisances when I have to park my car at night.
(2) I know that stretch all too well. I have never suspected illegal curbs though. Now I'll have to take a closer look. Why should we suffer because someone decided to create an illegal driveway/curb cut? -
In order for the car to be towed it first must be ticketed. After the car is ticketed the cops or homeowner can have the car towed. More often than not the cop will recommend that you call 311 to get in touch with the tow operator only because the process is quicker for you that way. It's ridiculous that you were given a ticket/towed for being parked in the yellow and not actually in front of the driveway. It's her own fault for not having a proper curb cut and driveway. BTW, there is no arrestable offense involving blocking her driveway or garage.
Oh, and the other guy who blocks the sidewalk can be ticketed as well. I don't know if the tow would take it but I'll see if I can find out. It might be a job for the NYPD aggresive tow program. -
Just happening to Google my way to this forum while looking for property information.
To the original proster: If you want to check if a property has a legal permit for a cut into the curb, please check http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/html/bis/bis.shtml and enter in the property address. It will show you all types of information regarding the building including if they have a permit for a legal cut for their curb.
By law a property must register with the gov't for their curb. If approved, they MUST pay for the cut into the curb to make it legal (making it slanted). If they just have a yellow line but no cut, even if they have a legal permit for a curve, it is still an illegal curve. I had issues with a property near my house before and found the NYC Dept of Buildings website very useful.
Nowadays, many cell phones have cameras. If there are disputes, just click away on cell phones and present that as photographic evidence in court. It has worked for me in parking disputes before. Remember to take not just the picture of your car but also surrounding shots including street signs, nearby house numbers with your car in the picture to proof area location.
Good luck getting rid of those illegal curves!
-XStrike -
Personally, I'd like to see white lines painted on the streets to separate/determine where each parking space begins and ends. Some folks like to take up two spaces, some try to take up three. And there is a reason the things on the front and back of your car are called bumpers.
-
Subject: illegal curb cut
If all cars were the same size you might have a point, now you sound ridiculous.
If my 13 foot van leaves, and then an 7 foot MINI cooper comes in there, what would you do then? probably cry about how much space was wasted, right?
This is a "common courtesy" kind of thing, not a law. We can't go making laws about everything, to protect everything, because then we'd be taking away our freedom, too. That would be bad, my friend.
Anyone painting a curb any color, for any reason is guilty of graffiti and can be charged as such, according to DOT NY, unless authorized to modify the curb by permit, which is searchable by address...
Get to searching, and file a complaint to 311, then they will send an inspector out to view it.
Please, no more laws.
You can't exit your car on one foot, because a car might be coming and you will be off balance to respond to the situation.
You can't sit in your car for an extended period of time, because this might be dangerous to you if a car came and hit your car.
You can't have your hand out the window while you drive on a hot summer's day --too dangerous.
You can't adjust the station on the radio while driving, this involves too much attention diversion from the road.
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