Forum: Etiquette
July 31, 2009
Breaking Lease to Buy?
I rent a one bedroom in Brooklyn and have 5 months left on my lease. I found a good deal and decided to buy a condo that will close within 2 months - that means I'll have several months left on my lease. I'm considering giving my landlord notice when I have a firm date of closing and paying that month's rent and forfeiting my one month's security if they release me from the remainder of the lease. Is this a fair situation? My landlord added a clause to the lease rider that doesn't allow sublets. What are my options?
July 15, 2009
Neighbor's Huge Tent
My neighbor put up a tent that is almost the size of the entire yard, has a pitched roof, so goes over 6 feet, and is one foot from my property line. He is a renter. The landlord is unresponsive. Is this legal per zoning laws. It is an eyesore and he will be partying all the time.
June 16, 2009
Friends of Brownstoner Gathering
Fellow Brownstoner fans, our next big gathering will be this Wednesday, June 17 at Rope, Inc. on the edge of Clinton Hill / Fort Greene at 415 Myrtle Avenue (between Vanderbilt Ave & Clinton Ave).
We will start around 6pm, but please feel free to drop in whenever you can. We plan on being there for at least a few hours.
Here are the directions and reviews:
http://tinyurl.com/n9rqcr
May 30, 2009
Noisy business
A business opened across the street from me. They move a large speaker in front of the store and blast loud music that goes straight into my apartment. I asked them twice nicely to turn it down and they said they would. But they didn't.
Is there anything I can do about this? Any advice is appreciated.
May 16, 2009
FENCE SEPARATING PROPERTY LINE
Aside from obtaining a property survey, does anyone know the laws on installing a fence (i.e. chain link, etc.). Who gets the good side and who gets the side with the poles showing?
May 5, 2009
Keyed Car Incident
A couple of weeks back a friend of mine was parking while someone slipped in and took her spot. She confronted the lady and to tell her it was her spot. The old lady stated she did not understand english. Pissed off , my friend left and found another spot 15minutes later. Yesterday my friend noticed the same lady had her signal for a spot so she swooped in and took it. The old lady comes out of her car yelling (mind you in perfect english) "WHat are you doing? I had that parking spot... yadda yadda yadda". So my friend was like "Oh now you speak English, when its your spot..." The lady goes back into her calls cusses a bit and leaves. This morning my friend's car was keyed. Obviously it was her; but it wont be enough for the police. ANy suggestions on how to handle the situation?
May 4, 2009
Retaliation for DEP Complaint
On Tuesday I complained to the DEP about an A/C compressor which has recently been installed on the top of the 1st floor extension of a new restaurant on Smith Street. The noise of this unit is well in excess of the code (43decibles). DEP requires you leave your name, address, etc., to file the complaint. Sometime last night, someone dumped the contents of a 1 gallon pain can in my front yard and on my stoop. No proof, but pretty sure it's related to the complaint. I called the precinct and they told me to call 911....(but I digress). Has anyone had experience with this sort of situation...obviously I'm dealing with a nut job, but I don't see why I don't have the right to expect commercial buildings to live up to the building code.
April 24, 2009
Front yard grilling etiquette
Greetings all. I live in an apartment in Carroll Gardens -- one with a deep front yard. With the weather finally turning and with no direct access to either the backyard or the roof -- I'm looking for some guidance on front yard grilling etiquette. I can't recall ever seeing anyone doing this on my block however with so much front yard space and so little grilling options I'm wondering if this is kosher. I'd be using a smallish weber charcoal grill. I'm even willing to share with neighbors to buy some good will!
April 19, 2009
Neighbor's Consent?
I am about to do some facade work on my brownstone and my next door neighbor, who is a nightmare, is sure to make things difficult. Previously, he has said that we could not set foot on his property when we needed to paint. We worked around it then -- not easily -- but this time, for sure we will need to be on his property to chemically remove the facade's paint and then, to restore the wall to its original brownstone. This wall is the border of his areaway, although it is technically my wall.
So my question is this: does my neighbor need to give me access to do this work and if he doesn't, what recourse do I have? The mason doing the work can indemnify them on their insurance but should I write a letter advising them of the work and nicely ask them to allow access? Or do I act first and ask permission later? My fear is that if they don't allow us access the job cannot get done. What rights do I actually have?
April 10, 2009
Teen Challenge loves Basketball
My next door neighbors, the Teen Challenge men's dormitory, play basketball incessantly. I don't need an alarm clock because every single morning I am woken up by the dribbling, grunting, shouting and fights. It's pretty much right outside my window and it's driving me insane. It goes on all day long and I mean ALL hours of daylight non-stop. The only time they aren't playing is at night when I'm usually at work. They constantly lose their ball over the fence and yell into our windows for us to go into the buildings' yard and get it back for them. We told them to get it themselves and they said they aren't allowed to leave the property. Anyone remember the Saturday Night Live Skit with Mrs. Delvecchio screaming "I keep it now!" whenever a kids ball went in her yard? That's gonna be me soon. Has anyone ever tried dealing with these people? It's completely ridiculous. I know silly me should have known I was moving in next door to a drug rehab or whatever it is, but it was the dead of winter and they weren't playing as much then. The house just looked like another pretty mansion from the front. I can only imagine as the weather gets nicer they will be playing even more. This is partly a rant and partly a request for suggestions or anyone else's experience with them.