blocked driveways

wernerco

If you have a garage with a driveway, people will sometimes block you by parking illegally in front of your driveway. What can you do ? You can call the police, but they do not always help in a timely manner. I have established a discussion list to explore other remedies, in particular civil litigation. If you are interested in working on this, or have any suggestions, please join the list:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blockeddrivewaysnyc

Werner

jeffrey

Call a private towing company.

If they are hungry enough for the business, they'll be there lickety-split.

wernerco

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I have explored this solution, but have been informed that a private towing companies cannot act until the offending car has been ticketed by the police. For the police, which is busy with many serious crimes, illegal parking of this kind is not a high priority, and they generally do not act in a timely manner.

jeffrey

Ah bummer.

stacey

Subject: Re: blocked driveways

wernerco wrote: If you have a garage with a driveway, people will sometimes block you by parking illegally in front of your driveway. What can you do ? You can call the police, but they do not always help in a timely manner. I have established a discussion list to explore other remedies, in particular civil litigation. If you are interested in working on this, or have any suggestions, please join the list:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blockeddrivewaysnyc

Werner

When we lived in Boro Park this was a big problem for us. 99% of the time the police couldn't help and since there were quite a few repeat offenders my husband would take the air out of their tires or leave nasty notes to them.

Do any of them leave a note with their number on it so you can at least contact them?

wernerco

no, they don't leave their names. I am trying to organize a plan of action whereby property owners, together with lawyers and private investigators, will quickly sue anyone who blocks a driveway. I think that this plan could be feasible if enough property owners sign up.

vidro3

you are allowed to block your own driveway. just park your own car across the curb cut of your driveway.

brokechick

vidro3 wrote: you are allowed to block your own driveway. just park your own car across the curb cut of your driveway.

doesn't this defeat the purpose of having a driveway?

i wish you luck, i guess, but i wouldn't be willing to pay a lawyer for a drawn-out suit over a temporary inconvenience, especially since it's probably a different person blocking the drive every time and you would have to constantly be filing new suits (unless you have some grander plan that i'm not grasping).

wernerco

as I see it, there would be no cost to the wronged party -- the defendant would have to bear the cost. The idea is that if people know that they would be served in a civil suit, they will tend to abstain from this kind of behavior to begin with.

Yes, my plan would involve a minimum of trouble to file the suit. All the inconvenience would be on the part of the offenders. It's a matter of organizing a routine which, once invoked, would work pretty well on its own.

BTW, to people whose automobiles are blocked when they need to go somewhere, this problem is more than a minor inconvenience.

robnyc

brokechick wrote: [quote=vidro3]you are allowed to block your own driveway. just park your own car across the curb cut of your driveway.

doesn't this defeat the purpose of having a driveway?

I would say yes and no, it would defeat the purpose of off st parking, but it would still be a reserved parking space for your car.

The best thing to do is to keep calling the police when it happens, and try and get them towed as often as possible and leave notes. Also do any of your neighbors with driveways have this problem? I suspect that might be dealing with it too.

tsarina

This is exactly my field of expertise. Smooze the cops, see if they have a car in neighborhood. Yes it takes time, this is only a minor anoyance (but not to us) or run around and see if they are at their usual haunts,and then have your tow truck ready when you get the ticket.
Going to court? Ya gotta be kidding. !!!!
I also do the very illegal curb, sidewalk and street paint. and they guys who hang out know to warn people there is no mercy in front of my driveway. I have many notches on my belt . people dont care but you can make it obvious to them that they will get a free ticket and tow. word gets out. Get some traffice orange paint and go to town.

wolfy258

I have the same problem as you do. In the past year, my neighbor always block 1/4 or 1/5 of my driveway. I left notes on his windsheild but he just tossed it back into my front yard (we painted the drive way bright yellow and have a big sign posted). So, two weeks ago, I had enough, so I rang his bell and asked him politely not to block my driveway but he was yelling and screaming and we got into a big fight. His relatives lived 3 houses away, so all his relatives came out (about 13-15 of them) and it was just me and my husband but we didn't care. After that night, they never blocked my driveway. The point is, confront them face to face b/c these people don't care about other people. But I stil have people blocking my driveway. I was told by a retired police officer that you DON'T need a ticket to get a car towed if they are blocking a private driveway. You can call any private car tow company and they will come pretty quick.

wernerco

the towing companies WILL NOT tow without a ticket in this situation. I have tried to have them do it many times

bcodsnpkslope

call the brooklyn pound 24 hours they will dispatch a traffic agent to write it up then you can get it towed! Ive done this more than once

wernerco

I've done it too & they have been helpful. but the last time I checked, they only work 9-5, or thereabouts