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May 23, 2007
Making a driveway
Hi, say you own a limestone in Sunset Park that is set back a bit from the road. Is there any possibility of putting in a small driveway, assuming the house is far enough back from the sidewalk? Obviously this would require you to cut the curb to make the driveway entrance and would take away from normal street parking.
Anyway, curious if there is any info about this.
Thanks
Comments
You can't park in your front yard.
Posted by: Archie at May 23, 2007 3:24 PM
Well I didn't mean exactly that, but there are other homes nearby that do have a short driveway in the front.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 23, 2007 3:36 PM
Curb cutting is illegal and disrepectful to your neighbors. If you are a self-employed limo driver, it's not a reputation builder to enfringe upon your neighbors. I'm sure that others have done it, other people do many things I would not do.
Posted by: Jeffrey Loyd at May 23, 2007 3:47 PM
wow. such hostility.
if the OP street parked in front of the house, or parked in a driveway they created, it would take up the same amount of parking.
what's to get angry about? 1 more car off the road.
does someone have a real answer on how this is done?
how can it be illegal if so many people have it?
Posted by: anon at May 23, 2007 3:54 PM
If you have the requisite depth from house to curb you can do it. Minimum of 20', I believe. You must pay NYC for permission to cut the curb; assuming there is no tree or hydrant in the way.
You can always break into the front wall of your house if you lack the requisite open area. There are contractors who specialize in this. You will need DOB approved plans.
However, as you can see above, you really don't want to be the first on your block to do this.
Something to think about and talk over with the neighbors first.
Posted by: tom at May 23, 2007 3:59 PM
OK, thanks for the responses. I was just curious. I don't currently own anything yet, but was looking at a place in the area and was just wondering what the thoughts on this were. Ideally I would like to have private parking, but maybe I just need to buy a place that already has a driveway.
Thanks for the info.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 23, 2007 4:29 PM
To the mathematically challenged it is not 1 more car off the road. It is one car off the road, but one less parking space for the rest of us. Plus it looks butt ugly.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 23, 2007 4:41 PM
To the mathematically challenged it is not 1 more car off the road. It is one car off the road, but one less parking space for the rest of us. Plus it looks butt ugly.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 23, 2007 4:42 PM
It's equal! the car that is now off the road doesn't need a parking space.
it is now zeroed out. no gain, no loss
Posted by: anon at May 23, 2007 4:52 PM
Not equal because then his car goes somewhere else to park and nobody can park where his curb cut is while he's gone.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 23, 2007 5:22 PM
"zeroed out. no gain, no loss" ? WELL, NOT SO! Think about it. When the curb is cut, the street has one less parking spot because you can't block the driveway on the street! That is one less parking spot for public use. For the person making the driveway It's like they reserve that parking spot for ever, Even if they don't have a car! Imagine if everyone reserved their own parking spot on the street. What a mess that would be. Any yes, it's really ugly seeing someones car parked in their yard. If it's an SUV, butt ugly!
Posted by: anon at May 23, 2007 5:27 PM
Curb cutting is, in a lot of cases, done illegally these days.
There's a bunch of illegal curb cuts in the south slope. On weekends you'll occasionally see stone guys grinding down a curb outside a set-back house with a concrete yard. Owner then put up a home-made sign saying "No parking. Violators will be towed." Evn though they're illegal, residents generally leave these spaces clear 'cause who knows whether a tow truck will be willing to make a few bucks with an illegal tow. Me, I think it's obnoxious. At some point the city will crack down on them.
Posted by: John at May 23, 2007 5:28 PM
okay so if everyone who owns a house gets to cut the curb where do the rest of us park...
nyc regulation if you own a 2 family home and want to cut the curb you must have enough parking for 3 cars...in other words if you take one spot away from the block you must give 2 back....fact !!!!!
Posted by: Anonymous at May 23, 2007 9:06 PM
Well if that's a fact that "2 family home and want to cut the curb you must have enough parking for 3 cars" Well that may be true for 10% of the curb cuts. The rest are illeaga. That's a big money maker for the city. I would love to see people get tickets for that!
Posted by: anon at May 23, 2007 9:23 PM
To find out the specifics of curb cuts, as governed by NYC zoning district regulations:
1. Look up the block and lot #
2. Check what residence district the property is in (R1 - R10)
3. look on the DOB zoning web site for your governing laws under the Quality housing Program
I bought the orange-cover book they sell for $25 because I thought all this was interesting, and the pictures in there are extremely user friendly.
Here is the excerpt from my zone, which is R6B: "R6B districts are often traditional row house districts, designed to preserve the scale and harmonious streetscape of neighborhoods developed during the 19th C. with four-story attached buildings. ... -- Park Slope or Boerum Hill, for example. ... To maintain the traditional streetscape, curb cuts are prohibited on lots narrower than 40 feet and the front wall of a new building, on any lot up to 50 feet wide, must be as deep as one adjacent front wall but no deeper than the other. Off-street parking is not allowed in front of a building and the area between the front wall and the street line must be landscaped. Parking is required for 50% of the dwelling units, or waived if 5 or fewer spaces are required."
Posted by: Anonymous at May 23, 2007 9:31 PM
For years I fought against such parking. But I have changed my mind. Look at 47th Street between 6th & 7th Avenue. Residents made illegal curb cuts, removed fences and the city did nothing. Eventually, the city grandfathered them it - an outrage to me at the time. But look around the corner on 48th Street and you will see parking that is perfect - it doesn't hurt the aesthetics of the block. And in many cases it provides two spots instead of one - one in the parking area and the second parked on the street - it is actually legal if you are a resident of the building.
Today I fully support such parking because the neighborhood is different (by the way, I was part of the effort to create the Federal Register District in Sunset). Times change. The blacksmiths on each block, the horse barns gave way to gas stations and garages (rather small...lol). Now it is time to change again. The recent wave of building modification encourages it - it is time to put parking on my historic register house. The regulations that were quoted above are easily overturned. Hire an architect and you can get it done rather simply - although a bit pricey. But it sure beats my parking six blocks from home or spending more time looking for a parking spot than the journey. And forget public transportation - it sucks. Oh, one last thought - flame on newbies to brooklyn - it is so funny to think folks that were not here for the battles that kept this neighborhood afloat, and who will be gone as soon as the economy dips and Manhattan becomes affordable again have a strong voice in this...lol
Posted by: teegee at May 24, 2007 9:56 AM
Here is the application for curb cuts.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/downloads/pdf/curbcuts.pdf
Posted by: KZ at May 24, 2007 10:24 AM
teegee, you don't really explain what changed your mind about curb cuts. what was it -- getting a car? Cars in general have a very negative impact on quality of life in a city. Sunset Park happens to have excellent mass transit with the express stop at 36th St. Your defense of curb cuts is completely empty except to say that it's a pain in the ass to have to look for parking. In other words, only makes sense from a selfish point of view.
Posted by: SPer at May 24, 2007 10:58 AM
SPer, I'm reminded of a defense Pete Hamill advanced some time ago to counter a similar situation: Would you want to clean up all the horse shit?
Cars in great numbers have a downside; however, it's how we got here, right?
Brooklyn, where we live, is also a great workplace and a great marketplace. Convenient transportation is essential for this to function.
When I see home-owner spending big bucks to create off-street parking, I see someone who is extremely frustrated. I don't see this person as selfish but as someone who wants to survive given the current predicament.
Sunset Park lacks sufficient on-street parking. That fact doesn't deter DoT from eliminating even more legal spots year after year and making a bad situation worse.
By the way, we don't have the 'excellent' mass
transportation as you might presume. I would give a good grade only to a service running when it's needed. The MTA has been gradually eliminating service to this locale. Five of our seven bus lines don't run at night. The 'R' and the 'N' lines are also curtailed during non-rush hours. During weekends service is eliminated south of 36th Street at night. I guess they think we all have cars.
Posted by: tom at May 24, 2007 12:07 PM
Sorry, Tom, I have to disagree. Yes, of course mass transit needs improvement, but that doesn't justify curb cuts. The solution to the need for more mass transit isn't facilitating the use of automobiles. As for car owners just trying to "survive" -- get a grip. I own a car and park on the street. I survive. I also commute to Manhattan by bicycle except in snow and heavy rain. Most of NYC lacks "sufficient" on-street parking, if by "sufficient" you mean enough on-street parking so that everybody can have a car and park it on their block. And the solution is to park cars in yards and on sidewalks?
Curb cuts are selfish because they are, as pointed out above, a form of privatizing public space. When someone puts in a curb cut, no one else can park in that space. The street loses a public space -- where the curb cut was -- and the property owner gains a PRIVATE space that no one else can use. I stand by my statement that curb cuts are SELFISH.
I don't see how it's relevant that we once used horses and now use cars. That's about the past. The future of transportation in Brooklyn lies in mass transit, cycling, and walking.
Posted by: SPer at May 24, 2007 12:38 PM
There are some blocks in Flatbush where every home has made an illegal curb cut to make "driveways." On these blocks there is literally no where to park! The city should allow the curb cuts in areas where code requirements can be met but strictly enforce the codes and issue summones' to those who have made convenient spaces for themselves. When these houses are sold to the next owner, does it somehow then become a porblem if it was not done to code? What about other changes that were not reported to DOB?
Posted by: Anonymous at May 24, 2007 6:08 PM
Curb cuts, painting a long yellow stripe in front of your house, all those fancy apartment buildings in the city with their "Please don't block the entrance" signs in front. JUST SAY NO, and call in a complaint to 311. It takes a while for someone to come and inspect, but they do come....
Posted by: Ann O'nimaus at May 25, 2007 8:32 AM
I hate curb cuts. Hate hate hate. Sorry. Why? Because I like to walk down the sidewalk.
I'm used to stopping at corners to let cars go by; I don't want to do it in the middle of the block too. Plus, a lot of selfish people (of course, none of YOU would do this) stop their cars on the sidewalk to load or unload stuff, or to unlock a gate. Some people (again, I'm sure none of you) even park their cars half on the sidewalk, or blocking the sidewalk.
You want better transportation? How much does it cost to put in a driveway and curb cut? Imagine if you took that money, gave it to your city council person, and said, "Can you help get us better bus service?" Imagine if everyone in the neighborhood did that.
Posted by: JF at May 25, 2007 10:23 PM
I cycle/subway to work and I have since arriving in Brooklyn well nigh 20 years ago. I only have the car for weekend use. I spend approximately 30 minutes *every single night* looking for a parking space.
Think about how much needless pollution that adds to the air, how much more congestion that causes in the streets.
I know cutting the curb would be selfish. I know it degrades the neighborhood, but that's 30 minutes every single day that I could spend with my family or chatting with neighbors, that instead is spent driving around in circles, spewing C02, searching for a parking space.
Posted by: Anon at May 29, 2007 11:36 AM
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