work being done next door
The building next to mine is being fully renovated – I think it’s been fully gutted. The’ve been working on it for the past 6 months and as you can imagine it’s been very unpleasant: noise, dust, construction debris. I got so mad that I decided to check whether or not they have permits for…
The building next to mine is being fully renovated – I think it’s been fully gutted. The’ve been working on it for the past 6 months and as you can imagine it’s been very unpleasant: noise, dust, construction debris.
I got so mad that I decided to check whether or not they have permits for the work. In the DoB site I found they have a permit to renovate the basement apartment! No mention of the other 3 floors.
Is it common for people to file for one thing and then do a lot more? This doesn’t sound right to me. What do you think?
Thanks
I think this is common and frankly, if your neighbors can’t at least acknowledge the inconvenience you’re being caused you ought to report their asses. We went through a similar situation where the next door neighbor gutted their place. I kept my mouth shut even though they left the street/sidewalk a mess every day, left garbage in our yard, and broke through our party wall–twice. Yeah, these people were idiots. They paid for the repairs but it was a huge hassle. However, I drew the line when one of their workers severed the gas line and the gas company came rushing over to make sure they didn’t blow us all to smithereens. I called the DOB and I’m glad I did.
yes it is common.
Ageed, johnife and superstooper, but I think OP is more upset by the fact that they weren’t honest with him and are ignoring his concerns, rather than the reality of dust, dirt and noise. (very different from the other complaining neighbor thread where the OP made sure to communicate with his neighbors).
we knew what to expect with the gut reno next door and the normal construction stuff wasn’t an issue. The other stuff- the men pissing in our garden, loosening the fireplaces on our side, throwing garbage into our backyard, and more- that made us crazy and when the contractor didn’t respond to us aksing him to resolve the problems, we called 311 as often as necessary.
johnife,
I agree completely, but a concern about the safety of the site was not the poster’s concern. The poster doesn’t like the dust and noise which is going to be present with or without a permit.
The work should be done with permits and this should be a concern- again something that could be discussed with the neighbor in a rational way. . .
This doesn’t resolve the problem for the poster however.
If the neighbor had permits for a full gut reno, you’d still have the same experience. The job would have been approved no doubt. So, basically you are harping on the fact that he doesn’t have a full permit – get over it. And shut up. Be appreciative that he’s cleaning up your neighborhood and investing money on your street.
how was i being hostile? all i said was “be a real neighbor”. alla you people should chill out!
I’m amazed that the majority here seem to be so unconcerned about the issue of safety. Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the permit process inextricably tied in with the inspection of critical portions of the work (particularly electrical, plumbing, and structural) with a view to forestalling crappy construction endangering the comfort and safety of residents of not only the building in question but also that of next door neighbors and the public at large? Of course, I’m assuming here the absence of corruptibility in the DOB inspectors which, given some of stories I’ve read, may not always be the case. I wonder how many of the posters advocating a laissez-faire attitude would be so blase if their houses were destroyed by a fire started in faulty wiring in the house next door, or if they lived in one of the Manhattan apartments destroyed by the recent crane collapse.
If OP weren’t interested in being a good neighbor why would he post here in the first place? Seems to me he would have called 311 and reported the neighbor a long time ago if that was his intention so why is anyone assuming he’s not trying to do the right thing? This seems to happen everytime someone posts a similar question regarding neighbors or tenants or landlords.
Anyone living next to a reno knows right off the bat there is going to be a certain amount of dirt, noise, dust and inconvenience but obviously there’s something more going on here. Good neighbors would have mentioned to the people on either side of them what they were doing and what to expect and sorry for the inconvenience, noise, etc.
It isn’t like Ray’s house is unaffected. The workers next door pounded so hard on the party walls that my fireplace separated from the wall, and so did one downstairs. They removed their rain gutter and severely damaged the ceiling in the top floor bedroom because water pooled and dripped in. True the contractors don’t work for Ray, but what they do impacts him directly so he does have a right to ask questions and to get answers. 6 months of putting up with this because his not-so-good neighbor is so clueless it hasn’t occurred to him that no one else is affected? Ray is not the problem.
Damn, if I knew my neighbors would be so ‘don’t snitch’, I wouldn’t have bothered to get permits at all! Who needs the waste of time and money?