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May 11, 2009
Fence Law?
Hello-I am new here and created this forum in hopes of getting much needed clarification/information from the more experienced homeowners. We purchased a 3-family home in Bushwick and are planning to have a iron fence/gate installed around the perimeter of the front of the house. I have tried to do research for any law/code/ordiance specifying how far I can go out, but haven't found anything. I know that down the block, all my neighbors' fences and enclosures come out a little over 4 feet from their houses and I was told that I should use the existing line of fences on my block. I looked at the survey that was done on my property, but there wasn't anything on there to help with this concern. Does anyone have any other information about this matter?
Comments
I guess you could subtract the footage of your house & garden & whatever's left of your land is the front yard.
Posted by: Arkady at May 11, 2009 1:02 PM
I don't understand the question. Just line up the fence with your neighbors' fences and the sidewalk.
Posted by: mopar at May 11, 2009 4:14 PM
The question is valid - the fences usually do not line up with the property line, but are beyond it. this is also true in the case of brownstone stoops and existing brownstone walls that define frontage. the property line is usually inside the frontage area. So op's question is this: what is the rule that defines exactly how far over the property line the front fence or wall or planting area can go?
Posted by: raphael9 at May 11, 2009 5:15 PM
The first two places I would turn for an answer are 1) an expediter (and/or code consultant), or 2) the LPC. They'll probably refer you elsewhere, but the likelihood is that they'll set you on the right track. Even though your home is not in a historic district, I would recommend that you call the Landmarks Preservation Commission's public information officer: (212) 669-7817. More contact info here: http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/html/contact/contact.shtml
Ignore advice that tells you to look at your neighbors and do the same. Such "advisers" either don't own homes, have never been through a permitting process, and/or have never paid fines for foolish construction decisions (won't be paying your fines either, and will insist after the fact that they were only joking).
Posted by: vinca at May 11, 2009 6:04 PM
I called DOB and they said the following:
the fence should not go outside the property line. It could be made out of iron and it should not be higher then 6'.
Looks like other houses on my block have fences sticking beyond their property line. I am not sure how they managed to do it without fines. I also not sure about what happen to me if I line up fence with them. If I get violation - does it mean than all other houses on the block will get violations?
Posted by: bobjohn at May 11, 2009 11:25 PM
Thank you everyone for the responses...
bobjohn-
It's good to know that someone contacted DOB about this. It is clear to me that people are going beyond their property lines. I read somewhere that there is no entity (DOB or otherwise) going out looking to enforce this unless a complaint is called in. This provides little comfort to me. But for various reasons, I am putting one up regardless.
Posted by: willowbee at May 12, 2009 1:18 PM
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