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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: 1371
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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Anger over ‘unnecessary’ sidewalk repair BY VERA CHINESE A Queens homeowner who says he was unfairly charged thousands of dollars for unnecessary sidewalk repairs wants the city to be held accountable for the gaffe. John Biagi, who now displays a large sign outside his Fresh Meadows home that reads “another homeowner screwed by NYC,” said the city told him to fix three broken slabs of concrete outside his house in 2004. Biagi held off on the repairs, claiming he was waiting for additional information from the city Department of Transportation. He came home one day in 2008 to find the city had dug up 789 square feet of concrete without warning — 725 more than the original estimate called for, he said. Biagi, a 62-year-old retired mechanic, has a copy of a DOT form that denotes 39 slabs of concrete outside his Utopia Parkway property as defective. But he said most of the slabs, save for the original three, were in good condition. “Whoever did this preliminary inspection should be fired,” he said. “Somebody should be accountable.” A $2,240 charge was added to his property tax bill in 2009 to pay for about a third of the total repair. But after the city Department of Design and Construction handed over photos of the sidewalk before the repairs, obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request filed by TimesLedger Newspapers, the city offered to refund $1,442. In the photos, the sidewalk appears unbroken and no cracks are visible. “They stole my money and called me up and said they want to split it with me,” Biagi said. The city billed John Biagi, seen here outside his Fresh Meadows home, $2,240 to replace the sidewalk outside his home, even though the pavement was in relatively good condition. The city has agreed to refund $1,442, but Biagi wants the city to be held accountable for the gaffe. He displays a sign outside his home that reads “Another homeowner screwed by NYC” to express his anger. The city billed John Biagi, seen here outside his Fresh Meadows home, $2,240 to replace the sidewalk outside his home, even though the pavement was in relatively good condition. The city has agreed to refund $1,442, but Biagi wants the city to be held accountable for the gaffe. He displays a sign outside his home that reads “Another homeowner screwed by NYC” to express his anger. (VERA CHINESE/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS) Biagi said he conferred with City Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone), who had originally brought the issue before the city, and the councilman advised him to take the settlement. “It wasn’t everything in terms of dollar for dollar, but it was most of it,” Halloran said. A DOT spokeswoman said the city performed the repairs after Biagi failed to fix the cracks noted in the 2004 inspection and after additional breakage was found. As for Biagi’s complaints, she said the agency has had no correspondence with him since 2010. “Property owners must take sidewalk defects seriously and repair them for everyone’s safety, whether they are large cracks, uneven surfaces or smaller defects that could grow into more dangerous problems,” the spokeswoman said in an email. Biagi, discouraged by the prospect of legal fees and a lengthy court battle, said he will not pursue legal action against the city. “I don’t think it’s fair,” he said. “But I don’t have a fight after this.”
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