Posted on 01/18/2013 9:24:56 AM PST by lowbridge
A new apartment building is being constructed just 12 inches from a family’s home in The Bronx, and the house’s owners are fuming mad.
“This is what I get to see. Nice,” scoffed Fernando Justiniano, 49, yesterday as he drew open his dining-room curtains to reveal the “monstrosity’’ of gray cinder blocks a foot from his home at 3525 Bruckner Blvd.
Justiniano and his wife, Patty, 44, said that when they bought the Pelham Bay home for $200,000 about 13 years ago, it overlooked another residence with a pristine yard.
“It’s preposterous. The fact that [the developer] can build that close — I don’t understand,” Patty said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
The neighbor had a "big" yard.
just read the code ~ looks like the R7 property is probably in violation due to CONTEXTUAL ZONING REQUIREMENTS.
That looks like 704 Hauser Street.
so they can build to the property line, but the neighbor’s can’t.
There are special rules when this occur ~ even though you may have a right to a 1 ft lot line under a clear reading of the rules, and might even get your plan approved, you had an obligation to check or zoning on the adjacent property lest there be a contextual zoning rule ~ which there is ~ else you might end up having to knock down your building.
I may call this homeowner's shyster lawyer next week to see how he's progressing on making a deal on, let's say, $2,000,000 ~ before the high bulk building owner has to buy ALL the houses on the adjacent zoning block.
A neighbor didn't like my backyard garden. She called every state agency she could to harrass me. None of that worked when i called all of the visiting bureaucrats up to come and look at her "height of bulk' violation ~ they came ~ she spent untold thousands getting out from under that problem ~ which would have required her cutting of a good 1/3 of the part of her home facing the mainstreet.
That was a 'contextual zoning' rule.
New York may be more forgiving but somebody just got caught.
I'm not without sympathy, but you really do have to check this stuff before you buy.
We live in the first platted subdivision in our town, platted in the 1880’s. Our house was built about 20 years later, and the block slowly filledup with one or two-story houses, narrow but long lots (52 X 180).
Well, last summer we saw a legal notice that Land Clearance for Redevelopment (urban renewal) was trying to designate our area “blighted” because it is under-developed and doesn’t meet current platting standards. We sucessfully fought that, and now we are fighting “Design Standards” that would require new buildings be built at the front property line- no front yard allowed. We have never been able to get our property re-zoned out of a commercial classification, but with lot area requirements, it has always been a moot point. If the Planning Staff gets these “Design Standards” through, the next step will be to rezone us CBD, and then there are no lot or yard requirements.
Abuse of government power—oh, yeah. But the City is proud to be a “Sustainable City”. Truly a misomer, kind of like “Planned Parenthood”
This is in NYC, not the burbs or countryside, and in an area zoned for full-block housing. And the City desperately needs more housing. If their own house wasn’t so close to the property line, this wouldn’t be an issue anyway.
Sounds like they didn’t research their purchase adequately, but that’s not the fault of their neighbors.
Biggest mistake first of all is buying a house in the Bronx to begin with. I’d buy one if it sold for dirt cheap and then flip it onto a 3rd worlder as their palace. Certainly not on the bucket list to live in The Bronx-—yuk.
Exactly.
And that’s a smart Dad.
How much baksheesh does a variance cost in Brooklyn?
Oops, meant to say Bronx in post above.
In the old days, I don’t think I would mess with anyone living in that neighborhood over a property line dispute, especially if their first name was Nino, Rocco, Salvatore, Vincenzo, or Vito amongst a few others. Today, Fernando is not one of those given names.
What part of “zero lot line” zoning didn’t he understand?
This is the Bronx though, so I imagine other rules come into play, especially if the builder has other high-tax properties going up.
I bet there will be a vote and a variance allowed before the letter from the homeowner’s lawyer hits the bottom of the mailbox.
Would the Quality Housing regulations not have applied?
Where I come from, you’re supposed to get building plans approved *before* you start construction, regardless. The building inspector keeps a copy on file and inspects to the drawings on file.
Even my sainted Milton Friedman approve of zoning codes, since poorly constructed or sited buildings certainly have a “neighborhood effect”.
I grew up in Queens, and I went to school with a guy whose house was too close to sea level for building in the 1960’s, but was grandfathered in because it was constructed under the older building codes. Some developer put in a whole slew of new homes on his block that did not meet the newer code. As a result the City of New York filled in all the two story homes on his block up to the top of the first floor, except for his, and raised the grade on the road in front of his home about 10 feet. Basically, looking out the first floor of his house you faced a ten foot pile of dirt in every direction and a steep set of stairs leading up to street level. All the homes on the other three sides were buried by about ten feet of dirt, as was the street, so his home was in the bottom of dirt pit. This is the hamfisted way NYC officials dealt the situation.
Mom and I have 100 acres we we had just subdivided and were ready to develop when the housing bubble burst.
We had the first lot almost sold then mom heard them mention they were looking at pre-fab houses. When we pointed out that the deed restrictions in the covenants required homes be built on site and be of a minimum size they walked, they never heard of restrictions on vacant land before.
“I’m all for private owners doing what they wish on their own property but in this case it clearly impacts the neighbors negatively.”
If it’s within the local zoning laws, then that negative impact has been deemed tolerable. All they can do, I think, is file a lawsuit, and pray.
How can you have setback rules when the lot is maybe 20 - 25 feet wide? They should zone it for trailors. But then someone would try and put a double wide...
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