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May 7, 2008
curb cut
HI:
I realize this is a contentious issue, but we purchased a 1920's rowhouse in Bay Ridge that is one in a group of 5 rowhouses. All of the homes were built with, and still retain, curb cuts in front of the homes. Ours, however, does not as the previous owner rented the home out and paved the front yard, which also included a garden to the right of the stoop.
We would like to restore the garden and the curb cut/driveway, but are not sure where to start and whether we'd get permission.
We have been told on more than one occasion, that because the house was originally built with a driveway, that we could just go ahead and restore it. But that doesn't sound right to me - I don't want to be fined by the DOB.
What are our chances of getting a permit from the DOB to do this work?
Note: We wouldn't even be taking away a legal parking space, as when the previous owner paved the front of the house, he simply added additional curb to an already existing space thereby creating an oversized parking space. We would only be taking out that small piece of the curb that was originally the home's drive.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
Comments
I find it very hard to believe that curb cuts are original to your house if it was built in the 1920s.
Cars were a new thing in the 20s, only just becoming popular and were a luxury item.
Why would middle-class rowhouses be built with ugly driveways? For horse carriages? Makes no sense to me.
Posted by: guest at May 8, 2008 10:03 AM
People totally had cars in the 20's. The 1920's houses in other historic Brooklyn neighborhoods have driveways and garages that were for cars, not horses. But those are driveways that go up the side of semi-attached houses all the way to the back. It's hard to believe curb cuts in front of rowhouses would be original. People parked on the street and there was much more room for it back then, with only one car per house max. You'd need to find photographs to prove it's original to argue your case.
Posted by: guest at May 10, 2008 3:47 PM
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