Advice re: Condo construction next door to my 150+ yr old carriage house

I am desperately seeking advice.  The 33000 sq ft lot (FAR 2, so available for 66000 sq ft bldg) next door to my carriage house was recently sold and is clearly about to be developed.  There’s an engineering firm there now excavating right up next to my house (which is on slab).   (Sadly, most of our windows are on the lot line, too; I wonder if I can assume that the excavation that close suggests a desire to build up to the lot line?  It’s an odd shaped lot, so I was hoping not.) Apparently they are exploring in preparation for a development.  I  would very much appreciate clear advice about what I need to do to protect my home and our interests.  I am sure many of you have gone through something similar.  Thank in advance.

tanner

in Lawyers and legal service 12 years and 5 months ago

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Putnamdenizen | 12 years and 5 months ago

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May I suggest rachetting back a little bit?  While it certainly makes sense to be proactive and gather information both about the condittion of your home and the plans next door, vacant lots get built upon.  Often by right, without need of DOB variances or landmark approval (you don’t mention that you are in a lndmark district).  Why would someone call 311 to call about something being done without permits without first verifying that?  A complain first policy doesn’t seem to lead to good relations to your new neighbors.  I understand why you would be anxious (and upset to lose your windows), but generally an empty lot is not a good thing, and in the end it could be better that it is being built on.

tanner | 12 years and 5 months ago

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Also, anyone have a good construction attorney? Maybe I should post that separately…

tanner | 12 years and 5 months ago

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Thanks.  At your advice I contacted an engineering firm (one that has geotechnical engineers and also structural).  They are putting together a proposal for “adjacent construciton monitoring.”   Anyone have advice about what happens in terms of community board approval for designs, etc?  I’d like to be as informed and active as possible on all fronts… Thanks.

reader718 | 12 years and 5 months ago

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  You should call 311 immediately and complain about work that is being done without a permit posted and ask them to have it shut down ASAP.   The post above gives great detail about the process, but start being proactive today. When we added on to our kitchen extension, our expediter sent out certified letters to our neighbors which he  said were required before hammer touched the structure. Please protect yourself and get  your house inspected by an engineer ASAP.   You need photos, lots and lots of photos included in the engineering report to document that your house was in sound and safe condition before the work started. True story, My mother’s neighbor decided to build a wine celler in his brownstone.   My mother did not get her own  inspection despite all advice to do so ( and I offered to pay for it)  becuase the  neighbors were so nice, their baby was so cute etc.     Her house shifted enough to crack some of the plumbing in the walls, the entire house was full of cracks and when she finally woke up enough to complain and call the DOB, she was given multiple violations for her cracked facade and failure to maintain..it was in the courts for years, she got a measly settlement that did not cover a third of the damage they did to her house. Do not relay on their engineering report, it is not in your interests. Good luck and don’t be passive.

JoeBushwick | 12 years and 5 months ago

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First step:  Check the Dept. of Building website and see if any permits have been filed for work on the neighboring property.  If none have been filed and work is already underway, you can file a complaint for construction without a permit.  If the work they are doing is of an investigatory nature, they may not need a permit.  If they have already pulled construction permits, they will have filed plans which can be viewed on the DOB website.  In order to get the permit, they are required to notify neighbors in writing so most likely they have not pulled their permits yet.  As for lot line windows, you don’t really have any right to keep someone from building up to the property line and blocking your windows.  If the developer of the new building has not reached out to you, I would suggest you contact them.  Check the DOB website for contact info or ask the people who are working on site.  You could ask them to do a preconstruction survey of your property to document the current condition so that if they cause any damage it can be determined if it was caused by the construction.  If they are unwilling to do this, you could hire and engineer and have it done.  This will help you if you need to make a claim for damage caused by the construction.  As for noise and vibration – a fair amount is to be expected.  They can not work on the weekend and are limited to to daytime hours.  DOB website has more details.  They may also have limits on noise level but this can be very difficult to document and enforce. Hope this is helpful

tanner | 12 years and 5 months ago

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Also wondering–isn’t there some regulation that requires neighbors be notified before work commences? I was taken aback by the tremendous noise and vibration today, and was not a little dismayed at the lack of common courtesy that would have at least let me know what was going to happen.  But then I thought I remembered something about due notice to neighbors.  No?