Reply To: Driveway Blocking In Borough Park

Dave Hirsch, Bravo!

PBA, No problem. To reiterate, I live in an old house, the driveway is absolutely legal. I have actually had the DOB here to confirm it.

so right, That’s not the entire story. Originally driveways had to be only eight feed wide according to the engineer I hired. When the Buildings Code was changed, as is often the case, existing properties were “grandfathered in.” Those of us who have old, narrow, but nevertheless legal driveways that cannot be widened are at the mercy of the illegal parkers.

BP Totty, Excuse me, but you don’t know the particulars of every single situation so it’s really not for you to say what is and what is not important to someone you don’t even know. I submit that this is the precise attitude that got us into this situation. (Not saying that you engage in these parctices, just talking about those who say, “I was only there for one minute.”)

Here are some examples:

1. You go out to buy dinner. They prepare you a hot meal to go for which, of course, you pay good money. When you get home, your driveway is blocked and it takes you an hour to get in with your cold, ruined meal.

2. You’re on the way home, you haven’t been feeling so great and would really like to use the bathroom. How’s that 15 minute wait feel now?

3. You need to leave for work. You need to back out of the driveway but some chazzer has taken a few feet of your driveway figuring (as they always do) “he has enough space.” Of course, judging distances on the side while backing, is very difficult so it takes you quite a while, enough for you to be late for work. To add insult to injury, you have to back your car over the curb and this causes you to damage the undercarriage to the tune of $3,000. Yes, it happened to me.

4. You have a sick relative. The doctor says, “bring her in to see me right away.” (Note, he didn’t say “go to the emergency room,” but “come to the office.”) You can’t leave the driveway because it’s blocked. How do you feel? How does your relative feel? Can anyone justify this?

I could go on, but how on earth can you say “Get a grip”?