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Title: Homeowners forced to pay over $1K a year just to sit on steps
Source:
NY Post
URL Source: http://nypost.com/2017/01/23/homeow ... k-a-year-just-to-sit-on-steps/
Published: Jan 23, 2017
Author: Julia Marsh
Post Date: 2017-01-23 19:28:21 by cranky
Keywords: None
Views: 1373
Comments: 8
Luke Gunnell stands on his $1,200-a-year steps he rents from the city. It’s every Brooklynite’s inalienable right to sit on their own stoops — but that didn’t stop a developer and the city from devising a scheme to tax them over it, a group of homeowners claims. Nearly three dozen property owners in Boerum Hill say they are being charged more than $1,000 a year just to use the steps leading to their homes. “It’s one of those weird, bureaucratic things that doesn’t make sense,’’ said resident Luke Gunnell, 50, who is forced to shell out $1,154 every year to use his stoop. He and 33 other residents bought their stunning town houses, on the leafy north side of State Street between Hoyt and Smith streets, for as much as $2.4 million starting in 2008. And they say their contracts included an “illegal” side deal between the developer and city. The agreement allowed the builder to extend the homes’ stairways 6 feet 3 inches beyond the property line and onto the city-owned sidewalk, jacking up the sale price. In exchange, the city would receive a special annual tax — paid by the residents. The tax, which rises bit by bit every year, means the homeowners are essentially “renting” the space where their stoops are. A judge ruled that a group of 34 Brooklyn residents will have to pay a city tax of thousands of dollars a year for the right to sit on their own stoops. The deal is part of a “revokable consent agreement,’’ which also means the city can demolish the steps at any time, leaving the residents without a way to get into their homes. “It is inconceivable,’’ said the homeowners’ lawyer, Jack Lester. Lester sued the city on behalf of the residents in 2015, arguing that the city should be allowed to enter into such arrangements only for temporary structures, such as scaffolding or those involving businesses, including marquees, flagpoles and awnings. While about half the homeowners acknowledge that they were aware of the set-up, they still say it is illegal. The others said they didn’t learn about it until 2015, when they were slapped with an “administrative fee’’ of more than $1,000 for the measure to be renewed. The city’s lawyer, William Vidal, argued in court papers that all of the residents should have known about the deal because it was part of their buyer’s contract. They receive separate bills from the city Department of Transportation for the special tax, since it involves sidewalks. Vidal said builder HS Development Partners made the deal only to “maximize petitioners’ living space.” “The relief requested in this proceeding amounts to a land grab,” Vidal said. “Petitioners were on notice when they purchased their town homes that they may have to one day remove their private structures on the sidewalk of State Street and are simply trying to privatize public space,” he added. Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Joan Lobis finally ruled on the issue last week — and sided with the city. She said the city “acted within its discretion.” A city Law Department rep added to The Post, “The city enters into hundreds of these ‘revocable consent’ agreements to facilitate the construction of housing. Over the last several decades, the city has revoked less than a handful.’’ Lester said he plans to meet with the homeowners to see if they want to appeal or sue the developer. Abby Hamlin of HS Development declined to comment on a possible suit. Additional reporting by Shari Logan 
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#4. To: cranky (#0)
City Lays Down Law To Some Residents: Lose The Stoop Families Told Big Apple Actually Owns Part Of Their Property By Hazel Sanchez NEW YORK (CBS 2) — Imagine spending a fortune to beautify your front yard, only to find out it doesn’t belong to you. It belongs to New York City. That’s what’s happening in one Brooklyn neighborhood. Residents may be forced to tear down their fences and staircases. As CBS 2’s Hazel Sanchez reports, the city is saying “move it, or lose it.” Veronica Deignan’s family has lived in her Monitor Street home in Greenpoint, Brooklyn since 1945. But the city just informed her that part of her front yard belongs to someone else. When asked if the city had ever approach her family in the previous 66 years to say it owned the property, Deignan said, “No, this was our property.” The City Department of Design and Construction sent the Deignan’s and all their neighbors on Monitor Street letters to inform them their ages-old wrought iron fences and front stoops are on city-owned property. Residents must remove them or the city will — all to make way for sewage and aesthetic improvements. The neighborhood is outraged. “Why do they want to dig it up again? We have new sewers, catch basins, you name it under this ground already,” Deignan said. “I was really angry. I called the property manager but he wasn’t really too forthcoming about anything,” neighbor Arlene Reischer added. Basically the city wants to extend the sidewalk an extra five feet, which would mean one property owner Sanchez met on Wednesday night would have to get rid of an entire staircase landing. Dozens of residents confronted DDC officials at a meeting Wednesday night. “The claim of the DDC is that we’re encroaching. However, these fence lines have been in place since the homes were built in 1900, 1910, long before the DOT existed,” Ricky Carias said. “You’re taking five more feet that give 15 feet. Nassau Avenue, Manhattan Avenue don’t even have 15-feet sidewalks. Are we having a parade that we don’t know about?” Bob Knapp said. The DDC said not all residents will be forced to remove their stoops or fences, but as of now, despite the strenuous complaints, the project is a go for the spring. The Department of Transportation is spearheading the project on Monitor Street, but it did not attend the meeting. Another meeting is being planned so the DOT can address residents’ concerns.
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February 2, 2011
The city has said the front stoops of the homes on Monitor Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn need to be removed because the city is the rightful owner. (Photo: CBS 2)
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