Use of Sidewalk
I have a neighbor that likes to use the sidewalk in front of my house in Bed Stuy. He and friends in the summer set up chairs in front of my house under my shady tree and he chains a bike to the parking sign in front of my house. To my complaints, he says…
I have a neighbor that likes to use the sidewalk in front of my house in Bed Stuy. He and friends in the summer set up chairs in front of my house under my shady tree and he chains a bike to the parking sign in front of my house. To my complaints, he says that I do not own the sidewalk. What are my legal rights here? I am responsible for keeping the sidewalk clear and safe. How do you deal with such “bad” neighbors?
Nah, opera or chant would lul them to sleep, especially after the occassional 40. Blast some slayer or metallica. Shit, if that doesn’t work try the trap door or razor wire technique
Open your window slightly and play some opera or even better “Chant”. This clears a crowd in no time.
If all fails bring out the Gamelan records.
Good luck….. or you could just talk to the guy.
Open your window slightly and play some opera or even better “Chant”. This clears a crowd in no time.
If all fails bring out the Gamelan records.
Good luck….. or you could just talk to the guy.
Wow, all I can see in the previous comments is a lot of extremes. I don’t really think the OP wants to make an enemy of their neighbor, and what they are doing doesn’t sound as extreme as barbecuing… lol. I live on a fairly heavily loitered corner in Clinton Hill. We have a lot of guys who like to lean on our fence and the cars parked in front of our house. You know what usually does the trick? We try to join them. All my husband and I have to do is take a beer to our stoop and sit there for a few minutes, and all of the loiterers leave. If we try to make conversation, it happens even faster. It’s funny how our midwestern kindness works to scare others away! but that might just be my block…
That kind of stuff is totally different than just sitting and chatting. That’s bad.
What I read in the OP is that they are hanging out, and that the “bad neighbors” deigned to use the OP’s personal parking sign as a bike rack–the horrors!
This does not sound like a crime to me. It sounds like something you either get over or deal with quietly by asserting your own presence.
I would just assume that since these guys are always in front of my house, they must be there because they want to be my friend. I would join their group. Ha!
It is a class thing. I rent a double garage. The landlord expects that I maintain the sidewalk in front, snow shovel, sweep up ect. So all last summer on the week ends a bunch of families would set up a tiny block party out in front. I am not even sure they live on the block! So every Monday I have to go and clean up after them like I was changing their diapers or something. Some things they have done. Dumped hot charcoals in a plastic garbage can that later burst into flames. Spray painted a target zone on the garage door for their kids batting practice. Leave the fire hydrant running full force… they opened it.. and then they even lost the caps for it. Sprayed silly string into my pad locks. Urinated on the neighbors fence. They even started to store their picnic supplies out front until next week. So why would someone who lives 10 minutes away from the park even enjoy doing this? LOW CLASS!
This is cracking me up. I’m going to start getting together with some of my friends (say 10) and their lawnchairs and start camping out a various locations around the City. I’ll start in the UES off of 5th, move to around BWay at 72nd…. My final stop will be in front of AMX downtown. People can’t just set up chairs anywhere they please. There are also rules about how many people can publically assembly. Don’t know how many people you’re talking about here but I’ve seen the police try to arrest groups of about 6 on bicycles near Union Square. I agree with the above post about quietly asserting yourself. Make it more attractive to you and less attractive to them.
Since when can people camp out on sidewalks? This is news to me. 311 is a wonderful thing — not just for complaining, but for getting information. What really is the law on this? Also, something which I think is a good thing to do is to introduce yourself in person to the police down at the station house. Ask them how they approach this kind of situation. I think it would be annoying to have my house be a social club…are they noisy? What is it that bothers you the most? The crowd, the noise, the lack of privacy? CAN you talk to the guy?
As for the idiots who say move, the hell with them. I love that….people who romanticize slum life. You pay a big price for a piece of property and you can’t enjoy it?
The sidewalk is public space, you don’t own it. Those people are not doing anything wrong, as long as they don’t make excessive noise or get drunk. You might not realize it, but they probably make your block safer by being out there all the time.