How would you feel if your new neighbor....
Whenever a black/Latino or other longstanding family on the block sells their home I always think, “there goes the neighborhood”. Because? It usually means, esp as of late, Manhattanites move in and start doing the most, in my opinion, un-neighborly/brooklyn renovations. Case in point. A family of our has just purchased a four story brownstone…
Whenever a black/Latino or other longstanding family on the block sells their home I always think, “there goes the neighborhood”. Because? It usually means, esp as of late, Manhattanites move in and start doing the most, in my opinion, un-neighborly/brooklyn renovations. Case in point. A family of our has just purchased a four story brownstone w/ 20-22/50′ “footprint”. They are planning to build a 16 to 20 foot 3 story extension that spans the entire width of their lot, thereby changing the block’s backyard “skyline” if you will. This extension will cast quite a large shadow, block light, and if there are side windows, encroach on the privacy of their neighbors. In full disclosure, the lots on our block are on average 150′ foot deep.
Everyone on our block thinks this is overkill and would like to see their expansion stopped. We like the idea of waving to our each other from our decks and feel that this will set a precedence that will change the neighborhood into another Manhattan (which is what I thought they wanted to get away from). Apparently the wife wants her children’s bedrooms on the same floor as her bedroom (so WTF is the top floor going to be…an S&M den, hydroponic pot farm, smoke house?).
It just does not seem in the spirit of the Brooklyn brownstoner. Why move into a home having pissed off all of your neighbors before even meeting them or better yet, does not meet your needs? If they want a McMansion shouldn’t they…oh god whatever.
I also feel that people should be able to do whatever they want with their homes if they want but at the same time I would rather have them crap on my lawn rather than take my sky out…at least I would be able to clean up the crap.
What do other Brownstoners think?
I’m in complete sympathy with the original poster. In my view, there should be many more restrictions about rear extensions in order to protect the views and light of neighbors. This is hardly a communist perspective! Rather, it’s about preserving quality of life. It wouldn’t be tolerated in most European cities.
Wow, this thread is already long, but here’s my 2 c.
I don’t think this is a black vs brown vs white or Manhattan vs Bklyn issue, or a new vs oldtimer thing. I just think some people are INCONSIDERATE. Our neighbor built an illegal extension without permits, put in a deck behind that, erected a solid wooden wall on the sides of the deck, and has windows on the sides of the extension looking into our backyard. You’d think he would think ‘Oh, my kind neighbors would like their privacy’ or ‘Their view and light will get blocked by my 12 ft high solid wooden wall’, but no. That’s what gets me. And the city does nothing about it.
BTW, Linus- How’s Lucy? I haven’t seenher around lately? I hope her therapy practice is doing well.
Dear Gentle Readers,
I am the original poster and I have had an epiphany. I do not give a rat’s a** if they build their extension. It won’t block my light. I realize that I am not the one who should be seeking advice, but that they are. Life is too short and the day too beautiful. I cannot change others people’s behavior, only my own and hope that it is in a manner that others welcome.
If this is what they want to do and it is within spec so be it, that is their right. BUT, they will be one of the first and they have set a precedence. We have central air. It was a HUGE bone of contention between myself and my spouse (I did not want it, why burn that much energy for only two months out of a year-it becomes a vicious cycle w/global warming), my spouse won out. In part because we saw that others had CA units on their roof. Had we not seen the units I bet my spouse would not have wanted to be the first. When asking our neighbors (which we did not have to) for permission to lay down a steel beam on the shared wall to hold up the unit (we would not have put it up were they to say no) they agreed. In part, because they stated that now they too might want to get CA some day. And so it goes…
So to my new neighbors…build away..just do not be alarmed when your children are able to see my fat hairy a** nude sunbathing in the summer from their extension bedrooms.
ALso, let it be known that I believe that Iran should be able to nuke up regardless of what the international community says. We have them, why not they?
So thank you all for your thoughts and indulging me my self-ish/less-ness. It is much appreciated and I truly apologize if I have offended or incensed anyone, I did not mean to (except with my fat hairy a** that is).
You’re correct. You can be sued if someone slips and injures themselves on your snowy/icy sidewalk. The Sanitation Dept can also fine you, but I’ve never seen/heard of anyone being fined for not shoveling.
I thought if you don’t shovel the sidewalk outside your home and someone slips, you could be sued. Am I wrong?
When I look up and down from my backyard, I see plenty of extensions built by neighborhood old-timers. None of them are 3 stories high, but neither are there any 3-story extensions built by “new people,” whatever that means. I’m skeptical that building on in this way is some special monopoly of Manhattanites, yuppies, or any other term of derision — nor loud parties, failure to clear sidewalks, etc.
Anyway, my personal read: I think it would be unreasonable to expect your neighbors not to build an extension, at all, of any size. (I’m not sure if that’s your position or not.) But I also think the planned extension sounds obnoxiously big. I wouldd hope this is a problem that could be solved, at least reduced, by friendly, face-to-face talk and compromise. You have to be especially obtuse not to realize the value of having neighbors that don’t hate you. But maybe I’m dreaming.
Good for you that you’ve kept your sense of humor.
I wonder if the sense of entitlement is not coming from the new people, but from the old? If it a landmarked area, that applies to the backyards as well. What is preventing anyone from going to the hearings and stating their case? The poster who suggested that living in a place with dis-investment is a far worse alternative got it right. Those complaining about a neighbor (that they haven’t even met) planning to build an extension sound like spoiled babies. Get a life.
Anon 11:46 am: The barking dog issue is certainly valid and drives me (and my own dog) crazy as well, but it’s not all old-timers who do that. A relative (albeit strange) newcomer across the street took in a stray dog a while ago AND leaves him out in the backyard all day and night (except in bad weather when he’s confined to the extension shed). Needless to say, the poor thing barks for good reason. As for not saying hello, many old-timers might feel threatened or suspicious, especially if they are, in fact, “older” people. (I, myself, am an “old-timer,” albeit just a bit under age 50, but I say hi to people who greet me even if I don’t know them.) Maybe you could try actually introducing yourself to the old-timer and make a personal connection instead of being offended by their lack of response. There’s also a newcomer on my block who wouldn’t invest in a $10 snow shovel at the Eckerd drugstore in order to clear his sidewalk of snow. The snow stayed and turned to compacted ice until the weather warmed up and it melted. Cleary, the “bad manners” go all around, so bashing old-timers doesn’t change do much good. The underlying concern in this thread is that SOME newcomers have total disregard for their surrounding neighbors and are only interested in what they want for themselves, and this is becoming a frequent complaint in b’stone neighborhoods. It’s not bashing them merely for being newcomers.