Making a driveway
Hi, say you own a limestone in Sunset Park that is set back a bit from the road. Is there any possibility of putting in a small driveway, assuming the house is far enough back from the sidewalk? Obviously this would require you to cut the curb to make the driveway entrance and would take…
Hi, say you own a limestone in Sunset Park that is set back a bit from the road. Is there any possibility of putting in a small driveway, assuming the house is far enough back from the sidewalk? Obviously this would require you to cut the curb to make the driveway entrance and would take away from normal street parking.
Anyway, curious if there is any info about this.
Thanks
For years I fought against such parking. But I have changed my mind. Look at 47th Street between 6th & 7th Avenue. Residents made illegal curb cuts, removed fences and the city did nothing. Eventually, the city grandfathered them it – an outrage to me at the time. But look around the corner on 48th Street and you will see parking that is perfect – it doesn’t hurt the aesthetics of the block. And in many cases it provides two spots instead of one – one in the parking area and the second parked on the street – it is actually legal if you are a resident of the building.
Today I fully support such parking because the neighborhood is different (by the way, I was part of the effort to create the Federal Register District in Sunset). Times change. The blacksmiths on each block, the horse barns gave way to gas stations and garages (rather small…lol). Now it is time to change again. The recent wave of building modification encourages it – it is time to put parking on my historic register house. The regulations that were quoted above are easily overturned. Hire an architect and you can get it done rather simply – although a bit pricey. But it sure beats my parking six blocks from home or spending more time looking for a parking spot than the journey. And forget public transportation – it sucks. Oh, one last thought – flame on newbies to brooklyn – it is so funny to think folks that were not here for the battles that kept this neighborhood afloat, and who will be gone as soon as the economy dips and Manhattan becomes affordable again have a strong voice in this…lol
To find out the specifics of curb cuts, as governed by NYC zoning district regulations:
1. Look up the block and lot #
2. Check what residence district the property is in (R1 – R10)
3. look on the DOB zoning web site for your governing laws under the Quality housing Program
I bought the orange-cover book they sell for $25 because I thought all this was interesting, and the pictures in there are extremely user friendly.
Here is the excerpt from my zone, which is R6B: “R6B districts are often traditional row house districts, designed to preserve the scale and harmonious streetscape of neighborhoods developed during the 19th C. with four-story attached buildings. … — Park Slope or Boerum Hill, for example. … To maintain the traditional streetscape, curb cuts are prohibited on lots narrower than 40 feet and the front wall of a new building, on any lot up to 50 feet wide, must be as deep as one adjacent front wall but no deeper than the other. Off-street parking is not allowed in front of a building and the area between the front wall and the street line must be landscaped. Parking is required for 50% of the dwelling units, or waived if 5 or fewer spaces are required.”
Well if that’s a fact that “2 family home and want to cut the curb you must have enough parking for 3 cars” Well that may be true for 10% of the curb cuts. The rest are illeaga. That’s a big money maker for the city. I would love to see people get tickets for that!
okay so if everyone who owns a house gets to cut the curb where do the rest of us park…
nyc regulation if you own a 2 family home and want to cut the curb you must have enough parking for 3 cars…in other words if you take one spot away from the block you must give 2 back….fact !!!!!
Curb cutting is, in a lot of cases, done illegally these days.
There’s a bunch of illegal curb cuts in the south slope. On weekends you’ll occasionally see stone guys grinding down a curb outside a set-back house with a concrete yard. Owner then put up a home-made sign saying “No parking. Violators will be towed.” Evn though they’re illegal, residents generally leave these spaces clear ’cause who knows whether a tow truck will be willing to make a few bucks with an illegal tow. Me, I think it’s obnoxious. At some point the city will crack down on them.
“zeroed out. no gain, no loss” ? WELL, NOT SO! Think about it. When the curb is cut, the street has one less parking spot because you can’t block the driveway on the street! That is one less parking spot for public use. For the person making the driveway It’s like they reserve that parking spot for ever, Even if they don’t have a car! Imagine if everyone reserved their own parking spot on the street. What a mess that would be. Any yes, it’s really ugly seeing someones car parked in their yard. If it’s an SUV, butt ugly!
Not equal because then his car goes somewhere else to park and nobody can park where his curb cut is while he’s gone.
It’s equal! the car that is now off the road doesn’t need a parking space.
it is now zeroed out. no gain, no loss
To the mathematically challenged it is not 1 more car off the road. It is one car off the road, but one less parking space for the rest of us. Plus it looks butt ugly.