Post by Critique on Jan 1, 2007 3:01:12 GMT -5
December 25, 2006
BY DENISE ROMANO
Parking - legally - at spot on Cropsey Ave. in Brooklyn is $160 fine.
The driveway is long gone, replaced with a sturdy fence.
The house that once stood there was razed nearly a century ago.
But don't even think about parking on this patch of Brooklyn curb front.
Just ask Nick Carpinelli, 80, who was slapped with a $160 fine for blocking the phantom driveway at 2255 Cropsey Ave. in Bensonhurst.
"I watch car after car receive the same ticket," said Carpinelli, who visits a friend daily at the nearby Bayview Manor Home for Adults.
"Sometimes I leave a note on the windshield asking them to help me fight this. ... It's a terrible thing. They [cops] know it's not a ticketing area. They just never sealed the curb cut."
City officials agree Carpinelli is absolutely right: No one should be ticketed for parking in front of a curb cut that leads to nowhere.
"This curb cut should not exist," said Jennifer Givner, a spokeswoman for the Buildings Department. "He should not be getting ticketed."
The curb cut used to lead to the circular driveway for the house demolished almost a century ago, Givner said. The building constructed in its place was converted into a hospital in 1930 and then into a retirement home in 1970.
Even if it were an active driveway, no ticket should be issued without a complaint from a resident.
"The law states that you can block your own driveway," Department of Transportation spokesman Craig Chin said. "So unless a complaint is filed, a cop doesn't know whether or not you live in the building and should not ticket you."
Police from the 62nd Precinct did not return calls.
But the area's community board has stepped up to help Carpinelli.
"This is an outrage," said Howard Feuer, district manager of Community Board 11. "I would be happy to help him fight this ticket. What's going on there is ridiculous."
www.nydailynews.com/front/story/483081p-406541c.html
BY DENISE ROMANO
Parking - legally - at spot on Cropsey Ave. in Brooklyn is $160 fine.
The driveway is long gone, replaced with a sturdy fence.
The house that once stood there was razed nearly a century ago.
But don't even think about parking on this patch of Brooklyn curb front.
Just ask Nick Carpinelli, 80, who was slapped with a $160 fine for blocking the phantom driveway at 2255 Cropsey Ave. in Bensonhurst.
"I watch car after car receive the same ticket," said Carpinelli, who visits a friend daily at the nearby Bayview Manor Home for Adults.
"Sometimes I leave a note on the windshield asking them to help me fight this. ... It's a terrible thing. They [cops] know it's not a ticketing area. They just never sealed the curb cut."
City officials agree Carpinelli is absolutely right: No one should be ticketed for parking in front of a curb cut that leads to nowhere.
"This curb cut should not exist," said Jennifer Givner, a spokeswoman for the Buildings Department. "He should not be getting ticketed."
The curb cut used to lead to the circular driveway for the house demolished almost a century ago, Givner said. The building constructed in its place was converted into a hospital in 1930 and then into a retirement home in 1970.
Even if it were an active driveway, no ticket should be issued without a complaint from a resident.
"The law states that you can block your own driveway," Department of Transportation spokesman Craig Chin said. "So unless a complaint is filed, a cop doesn't know whether or not you live in the building and should not ticket you."
Police from the 62nd Precinct did not return calls.
But the area's community board has stepped up to help Carpinelli.
"This is an outrage," said Howard Feuer, district manager of Community Board 11. "I would be happy to help him fight this ticket. What's going on there is ridiculous."
www.nydailynews.com/front/story/483081p-406541c.html