Shared Driveway, Right of Way, Easement Issue
I have a question regarding the part our property which I believe is called an “easement†– I’m trying to figure out what right we have as owners of that of land. The land in question is approx. 10ft in the back of our site – this 10ft makes up HALF of a common driveway…
I have a question regarding the part our property which I believe is called an “easement†– I’m trying to figure out what right we have as owners of that of land. The land in question is approx. 10ft in the back of our site – this 10ft makes up HALF of a common driveway shared by two long rows of townhouses (so homeowners can access their back garages.) We are the very last unit on the end of this long common driveway, yes, at a deadend that is almost a whole block deep, a magnet for those looking for a dark hideaway…
My understanding of an easement is that it allows people to use your land to travel over, but it doesn’t mean they have a right to park there, correct? I looked on the survey and its called out as “Right-of-Way.†Is that the official term? Where can I find out the laws and our rights regarding this 10ft space?
Our problems are exacerbated by our neighbor 3 houses down. He seems to tells all his friends they can park anywhere in this common driveway. He takes no responsibility for where they park and has told us to our faces, he will vouch for them if they are towed. Then there are others who do not live anywhere on the block and are looking for a place to do drugs or have backseat sex in a dark place. It’s hard to tell the two apart and the latter type will leave all sorts of trash back there after their trysts.
What would you do in this situation? We don’t want our backyards to become a breeding ground for this kind of business and yet neighbor guy is unwilling to even tell his friends to stop parking there to help us out weed out the two… he seems to think he and his guests are allowed to park anywhere, behind anyone’s house along the whole driveway easement. Is our only solution to go out there every time a car is parked, shine a flashlight inside, hope no one pulls a gun or anything if they are doing illegal stuff out there? My husband is away on trips a lot and one of his concerns is retaliation, especially when he is not around…
Deeds are Kings Co Registrar, 210 Joralemon Str,.either on computer/microfische
/ or olde books. Bring block and lot #s and be prepared to spend a bit of time.
Since this is private property, you don’t need a car to be ticketed to get to towed; but
that is the reality though. NYPD will get to it when they get to it.
Love the motion sensor lights left on long timer (20 mins), signs of course (one that says beware of watch dog (and buy a deep barking tape!), etc.
Somethings that worked when I was in Bay Rdge in similar situation,
– I would call tow truck myself,
– complain to police and fire/emergency since no emergency vehicles can pass,
and, only as a last resort,
– I would remove the air from the offending tires. Wouldn’t damage vehicle;
just inconvenience them (return the favor),
-if s/he keeps @ it, just leave your vehicle blocking THEM in (once cameras are in
place) while you take a long bath. Do this a few times…
If there is vandalism to your vehicle it will be caught on tape. Press charges or one
strike and after that… up to you.
Poll your neighbors– maybe between X and Y hours the alley could be locked and a
key keeper/ code / remote could be given to emergency presonnel. Ask for ideas from a security company-
Perhaps these people are casing the area… so it is of concern for several reasons.
Pity that some people just don’t know what a privilege having good neighbors is!
I believe there are alleys like this in Windsor Terrace too.
Yes, get your arms around the exact terms and limits of the easement. If those terms are being violated by the neighbor, have a lawyer send a cease and desist letter. Motion sensor lights are a good idea. You may also want to post laminated “private property” signs that list what may and may not be done. You may also want to chat with the local precinct community affairs officer for additional ideas of what you or they can do. Start keepign a contemporaneous log and occasional video of what is going on out there, in case you need to escalate this.
I think it would be the Kings County Clerks Office. I think that is where they file all real estate instruments. I am only guessing this as it was a neighbor who’d provided me with the copy I have – but she got it at one of the city offices.
I will tell you someplace else where I saw mention of deeded right of ways in relation to my house – on the certificate of title insurance. The title insurance co was aware of two or three filed right of ways with respect to my property and they listed them by number (in our case they were not guaranteeing the easement has not been violated or is still passable) which has provided me with leg work if I choose to research the other two right of ways.
I think with the tresspassers, you may have some grounds, particularly if no one will vouch that they are visiting. I have the same situation here and I am very diligent about who is in our alley – but I have the backing of three or four neighbors who really don’t want people back there.
You need lights out there. They now have solar powered motion lights that can be pole mounted with no remote power source and they do a pretty good job. HD has them. The neighbor and his guests are another issue.
Steve
Bright lights and a camera (real or not) and sign mentioning the filming are good suggestions for the illicit behavior but the parking will have to be further discussed with neighbor. Would a large heavy planter (whiskey barrel or something like that) be possible to make parking not work but still allow for turn arounds?
The issue is I AM the last house… well one of 2 houses. Its a 2 part problem. Our neighbor’s unneighborly parking practices and the outsiders (pple who don’t even live on the block) who use the spot in the cloak of darkness for smoking pot or having sex. I’m tired of picking up used condoms, munchie bags and dog poop…
Actually, quite a lot of houses in Bay Ridge have what sounds like this set up. There’s a back alley where all the garages to the houses are and usually one main driveway on the block that all the cars enter and exit from. I don’t know exactly what the one here described looks like but from when I lived down there, you couldn’t park your car outside your garage because you’d be blocking people access to people who lived further down the alley way from you.
We confronted/talked to the neighbors for a couple of reasons – he and his buddies are constantly blocking the last two houses (me and the neighbor across from us.) At times, we are honking for 15minutes before someone will show up. MEANWHILE, their parking spot AND the spot behind their house is COMPLETELY CLEAR and EMPTY. Ridiculous.
I also talked to him to see if he could understand my point of view, that I didn’t not want our backyard, our neighborhood, to become a place where the word would spread that its okay to come and do crap there. by simply having his friend NOT park behind our house, it would help us weed the outsiders…
The problem with getting a gate just for the two end units, is it makes it hard for the neighbors right next to the end units to get out of their garages…
My husband has caught a bunch of people smoking pot out back. When asked who they are visiting, they will wave their hand and say oh yeah, our friend is a couple houses down. When asked to move, they move one house down, just out of our view… I want to be sure we keep the neighbhorhood safe.
Steve, do you know how I go about finding out if it is a deeded right of way and what restrictions or allowances are legally attached to it? When we bought our property, it came with a survey. I just looked at it and the “spot” in question is part of our lot, but it is called as out “right of way.”
thanks for all your responses.
Even though I am a woodworker – I’ve read about easements and listened to people talk about them during disputes. I’d once managed a property which had an easment attached to it. We also have a common drive here behind our house.
I would first check to see if your easement is “deeded” that is a “deeded right-of-way”. If it is deeded and that deed is recorded (the same way a real estate deed is recorded, in the same office where the deeds are in this easy-to-navigate city), then it may spell out who may use the right-of-way and for what reasons (a building I managed had an alley behind it which had an easment it for the purposes of “delivering hay”). Any restrictions may be listed there in. So read that first, but mind you, if people are violating the terms of that, my understanding is that there is no gov’t agency which will run out and enforce those terms; it would be up to you to use the courts to enforce what would be viewed as a private property dispute.
In so far as people using the drive here behind our house, if I see people in our drive who are not from here, I ask them who they are here to visit. If they are not here to visit one of my neighbors, I ask them if they need the assistance of the police (they leave). As for people on my property which extends into the easement, sometimes my neighbors park there while jockeying cars around, etc. Ok, that’s part of having neighbors. If I found anyone out there that did not belong here, I would ask them to leave and if they refused I would call the police. In our easement it states that no one should be parking in the drive, so if a friend of the neighbor’s blocked my access to my driveway, and they refused to move, I would call the police. It would be very difficult for me to enforce this on a car parked at the end of the drive, say five doors away unless I had he support of that neighbor.
Maybe, if you have an deeded right of way, and it states that no one can park there, you can enlist the neighbors owning the land where they are parking to help enforce the terms? You will need their help for what is occuring on their property. Also, if there is no deeded right of way, which may means it may be a right of way by prescription or need, you and your neighbors may have a leg up as the need may only be for people to access the garages in the back, not actually park along the length of the easement; but again, it will be up to your neighbors to enforce the use of their property.
this is my understanding of some things that I really have little right to comment on-
I’d like to see what a real estate lawyer says –
Steve