Sticking It To Their South Slope Neighbors
Nothing developers in the South Slope do should surprise us. But, reports IMBY, they’ve reached new lows recently. Faced with the issue of how to vent their tri-level below-ground parking garage, the developers of 406 15th Street aimed it right into the backyard of the neighboring property at 397 16th. The result? “Some 200,000 cubic…
Nothing developers in the South Slope do should surprise us. But, reports IMBY, they’ve reached new lows recently. Faced with the issue of how to vent their tri-level below-ground parking garage, the developers of 406 15th Street aimed it right into the backyard of the neighboring property at 397 16th. The result? “Some 200,000 cubic feet of air pouring…into their backyard …several times an hour, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.” Nice. Is this legal?
this kind of junk is what made us decide we couldn’t buy in south slope. that sort of daily headache just wasn’t worth the discount.
Nice that when they had to decide which direction to have the vent face “the neighbor’s yard” was the one they decided on.
Can’t it just be turned in the other direction? It’s their fumes, they should have the pleasure.
NYC BC 27-456 also addresses venting public garages.
even if it isn’t against code it may still be actionable as a nuisance. You need to see a lawyer who knows this type of law….
Gah! that is one ugly building. Trying to answer Mr. B.’s question, I looked up the NYC building code on line. First, this is the relevant rule for gas exhaust chimneys:
(b) Location of discharge opening. -The location of
the discharge opening of the exhaust pipe shall comply
with the requirements of subdivision (d) of section 27-
776 of article one of subchapter thirteen of this chapter,
and, in addition, the opening shall be located or
arranged so that it cannot cause condensate leaving the
outlet to come in contact with people. The exhaust pipe
may be connected to a chimney used for other
equipment, provided that the operation of the engine
does not adversely affect the operation of the other
equipment so as to cause a fire or health hazard, or to
cause the emissions from the chimney to be in violation
of the air pollution control code.
and what does section 27-776 d) says about the location? Glad you asked!
(d) Openings. -No openings for outdoor exhaust air
discharges, air intakes, or reliefs from equipment shall
be located and constructed so as to:
(1) Interfere with the proper functioning of other
openings in the same building or in adjoining buildings.
(2) Interfere unreasonably with the occupants of the same
building or adjoining buildings or with the general public.
(3) Create a fire or health hazard.
It sounds suitably subjective for a nice long battle.
The other photos on IMBY do put this vent into a different, much smaller context. How many cars are actually running and producing exhaust in that garage at the same time???
While not defending this ugly thing, the text and picture make it look like it’s exhausting directly into the neighbor’s yard, while in fact it seems 4-5′ away. And all that stuff on IMBY’s site about CO poisoning makes a possible legitimate issue seem so overblown one is inclined to ridicule it.
Concrete