The Luxury of the Garage

Brenda,

I am in Ditmas Park and I have a legal driveway that could probably fit about ten cars deep. I sure as heck don't take it for granted. There are only two cars in my household and we don't put either in the garage which is of course filled with kayaks and other camping gear. I certainly would not appreciate having my curb cut condemned because I don't use my garage as a place to park my car. I paid for that curb cut first when I purchased my home and I pay for it every year in the form of property taxes. Our property taxes wouldn't be as high without the garage or driveway. In this area there is still plenty of on-street parking and it is mostly used by people who drive to the area and hop on the train to get to work. The streets are virtually empty on the weekends because people who live in the area have driveways.

However, illegal curb cuts, especially in densely populated areas are a problem because they are not taxed and make on- street parking almost impossible.

Posted by: Chaka at September 2, 2008 7:51 PM

"buying a house and property taxes doesn't entitle you to a piece of public property."

It most certainly does. That is precisely why I am also 'entitled' to clean trash from the entire public sidewalk and street curb in front of my home, shovel all of the snow and keep the entire stretch of cement sidewalk in good repair, even replacing it if necessary. BTW, that runs about 7K-10K out here and you pray that the cement doesn't crack. I would say that my garage and driveway being taxed yearly and maintaining the public property in front of my home is a fair trade off.

However, I do feel for my neighbors who live in more densely populated Brownstone neighborhoods. I owned an apartment in one and parking was a pain. When I traded-up, I decided to sacrifice being walking distance from some of the best ammenities in Brooklyn and being minutes away from the city to have a big yard, big house, driveway and garage. We can't have it all.

Oh almost forgot lurker, it does mention both garage and driveway which according to DOB includes the curb cut. I wanted to make sure that mine was legal before I purchased.

Posted by: Chaka at September 2, 2008 8:31 PM

I know people in Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst who have cars for themselves and each of their kids! At least we have the space to park them and space for eight more. One vehicle is a hybrid (new) and the other is quite old. I never use street parking for either of them because it takes spaces away from others, even though they are commuters.

BTW, I don't have a Viking or Aga range or subzero fridge. To each his or her own.

Posted by: Chaka at September 2, 2008 9:30 PM

Never said that I was entitled to the sidewalk, I said that I was 'entitled' to clean it. I am entitled to the curb cut though. The title to my home clearly states as much. Until a city ordinance is passed that says otherwise, that is just the way that it is. Neither of us made the legal curb cut laws but I am definitely a beneficiary of it. Now you could advocate to have the legal curb cut ordinances repealed but I don't think that you would get much support. Gentile is having a hard enough time getting legislation to stop illegal curb cuts. It appears that if his legislation goes through, the illegal curb cuts will be 'grandfathered-in' anyway.

Also could you please contact the DOF on my behalf and tell them to stop taxing my garage?

Posted by: Chaka at September 2, 2008 9:43 PM

Was the carriage house legally converted into living space or is it attached to a main house? Is the carriage house now on its own deed? This makes all the difference in the world.

If there were a driveway and/or garage/carriage house there is an easment to access either of them via the curb cut and given the age of your carriage house it was probably grandfathered in. If the carriage house is a legal living space and deeded as such although the curb cut may be present there would be no easement because there is neither the driveway or garage to access.

If it is any solace, most people will not park where they see a curb cut, especially in front of a converted carriage house.

Posted by: Chaka at September 2, 2008 10:02 PM

North Heights,

You'd actually look to see if the driveway was legal not the curb cut. The curb cut easement comes with the legal driveway. The two main places to look would be the City Dept of Finance (DOF) and the Dept of Buildings (DOB.) Depending on the age of your home you can even look at the 1940 tax photos.

If the home is a newer home and it doesn't conform to the regulations below, the driveway is probably illegal (done without proper approval or permits) therefore making the curb cut illegal.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/downloads/pdf/curbcuts.pdf

Posted by: Chaka at September 2, 2008 10:19 PM

Steve,

I am being taxed for the ground on which the garage sits AND the garage. That would be the 'Building-1' for the house and 'Extention- G' for the garage designation on my taxes. The 'G' was not there when I purchased my home even though the garage was there since the 1920's. The sellers had to have the designation changed before I closed and when they did the taxes increased based solely on the added 'G'. They used the increase in property tax as an argument to try to get me to not have it recorded properly so that they could save themelves the expense because they correctly said that it would have been grandfathered-in. I didn't want any problems though. What if a 'Steve' were to come by and challenge the legitimacy of my curb cut? ;)

I also have a neighbor whose garage was a safety hazard and they had it demolished. Once the demolition was reported to DOF and the 'G' designation removed, their taxes decreased. I get the point that you are trying to make although I respectfully disagree but I assure you that I pay yearly for that garage.

Posted by: Chaka at September 2, 2008 10:53 PM

Steve, that would mean again, that I am taxed separately for the 'G' my garage. The 'G' designation is not the designation given to all permanent stand alone buildings on your property. There are other designations with 'G' being the most expensive because of the curb cut. Again Steve, I have gone through this and I didn't make the rules.

Lurker, my deed outlines the boundaries of my property which includes my driveway and extends in the front of my house to the sidewalk where my lawn ends. I am 'entitled' to an easement to access the driveway and garage via a curb cut in the public street. I saw that stoop thread the other day and I can see how you can get confused. Unlike much of Brownstone Brooklyn, Lewis Pounds, TB Ackerson, Dean Alvord, the developers of Victorian Flatbush decided not to follow the Brownstone model and instead cut out large lots setting the houses back from the property lines to allow for front lawns which are private property. The sidewalks were also made to be extra wide allowing for the planting of trees and malls. This is what attracted me to the area. As far as what is fair, I would say that it is unfair that people make their own driveway/curb cuts and are not taxed for them. As for me, under the current system, the city via DOF is being compensated.

Posted by: Chaka at September 3, 2008 11:16 AM

Sure Steve. Tell him I said hello. No one person designed the ACRIS system. It was a system that was developed over a number of years with numerous revisions and input from several agencies including DOF, DOB, DoITT, etc...

Posted by: Chaka at September 3, 2008 4:58 PM