The Woodhaven Residents' Block Association has worked hard to rid our neighborhood of signs and advertisements illegally posted on telephone poles, lampposts, and other public property. These signs are eyesores and break the law.
Our efforts to combat illegal signs have received some attention:
Our message to elected officials about illegally posted signs
Our latest effort has been a message we sent to our Assemblyman Mike Miller and Council Member Eric Ulrich, urging changes to the law. Our entire message is below.
From: Woodhaven Residents' Block Association
Date: Tue, Nov 22, 2011 at 11:18 AM
Subject: A longer-term solution to the problem of illegal signs
To: Miller, Mike; Ulrich, Eric
Cc: [...]
Dear Assemblyman Miller and Councilman Ulrich,
The Woodhaven Residents' Block Association (WRBA) appreciates the event you held yesterday to call attention to the issue of illegally posted signs, especially in Woodhaven. As you know, this is a real problem on which the WRBA has focused for over a year (see coverage here and here).
Tearing down illegally posted signs is only a short-term solution, however, because new ones soon go up in their place. We would like to use this opportunity to encourage you to explore longer-term solutions to the problem. In particular, we believe it is a shortcoming that Department of Sanitation personnel -- rather than private citizens -- must observe the illegally posted signs in order for the offense to be prosecuted.
Every hour that an illegal sign remains posted provides an incentive for businesses to flout the law with their eyesore advertisements. The best way to combat the problem is to remove the signs as quickly as possible and to prosecute those responsible for them. Unfortunately, we have been informed by Mr. Iggy Terranova, community affairs officer at the Department of Sanitation, that if a private citizen removes an illegal sign (and private citizens, such as the WRBA, are often the best-situated to remove signs swiftly), the Department of Sanitation is unable to prosecute those responsible for the signs. According to Mr. Terranova, only a sworn statement by a trained officer of the law, such as a Department of Sanitation officer, would serve as adequate evidence in the proceedings against someone accused of illegally posting signs.
Though the relevant laws for illegal signs (NYC Administrative Code §10-119 and §10-121) are silent on the evidentiary adequacy of affidavits or testimony by private citizens, it is worth noting that another section of the New York City Administrative Code specifically states that sworn statements or testimony by private citizens might be useful in prosecuting illegal dumping (see NYC Administrative Code §16-119(f)). The WRBA believes that the Environmental Control Board and the Department of Sanitation should make any changes that would permit private citizens' sworn statements, testimony, and photographs to serve as useful evidence in prosecuting illegal posting, too. In addition, the WRBA welcomes any changes to New York State law (and in particular, New York Penal Law §145.30) that would facilitate such changes.
Please join the WRBA in pursuing these modifications. It is a win-win policy to allow citizens to remove illegal signs without invalidating any potential prosecution of the lawbreaking companies. It empowers citizens, relieves the Department of Sanitation of some of the burden of enforcement, diminishes the incentives companies have to break the law, and leaves intact the chance to pursue legal recourse against law-breakers.
Sincerely,
Alexander J. Blenkinsopp
Second Vice President
On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Woodhaven Residents' Block Association
What is an illegal conversion?
An illegal conversion is an alteration or modification of an existing building to create an additional housing unit without first obtaining the approval of the NYC Department of Buildings.
Examples of illegal conversions include:
- Using for residential occupancy a property zoned for manufacturing or industrial use.
- Creating a housing unit in a building designated for manufacturing or industrial use.
- Adding an apartment in the basement, attic, or garage without obtaining the approval or permits from the Department of Buildings.
- Creating a rooming house (single-room occupancy) or dividing an apartment into single-room occupancies.
Why are illegal conversions harmful?
Illegal conversions reduce the quality of life by bringing more people to live in a neighborhood than it can support. This unplanned growth can strain the capacity of the buses and subways, as well as the sanitation and sewer systems. It can cause overcrowding in schools and create parking shortages.
Most important, if the construction does not meet the Building Code standards, the building may not be safe to occupy. The lives of the occupants, as well as those of the City's emergency responders, could be at risk.
Building owners who receive violations for illegal conversions face court hearings, fines, and daily penalties for the use of each illegal unit. These penalties can amount to thousands of dollars.
What to do if you suspect an illegal conversion?
If you suspect an illegal conversion,
contact the Woodhaven Residents' Block Association. We will anonymously log the complaint with the Buildings Department and request that a Buildings Inspector be routed to the site to inspect the property. We will also check the legal use of a building.
In addition, we will monitor the Buildings Department website to see what actions have been taken and contact you to confirm these actions.
Source: New York City Department of Buildings.
To view a PDF of our original leaflet containing all the information above, click
here.
As sometimes happens in any urban environment where people live in proximity to each other, noisy neighbors can be a problem. We hope that all residents of Woodhaven would be considerate of their neighbors, but since reality sometimes falls short of our hopes, the WRBA has published a leaflet to help residents deal with noise problems.
Click
here to view a PDF of the leaflet. A plain-text version of the leaflet is available at the bottom of this webpage.
In June 2011, the WRBA submitted written testimony to a New York City Council committee, supporting proposed legislation that would increase fines for residential noise while also urging the City Council to consider other options for tackling this problem. A PDF of the full testimony is available
here, and the press release about the testimony can be seen
here.
Here is the plain-text version of the leaflet mentioned above:
Noise is a problem that typically gets worse during the Summer months, but it could be an issue at any time of the year. Here are a few things you need to know about noise – what your rights are, and how you should go about resolving a noise complaint.
First of all, there is no curfew or time limit on noise.
In other words, if there is a noise disturbance, don’t feel that it won’t be taken seriously just because it’s 4 in the afternoon, not 4 in the morning! Noise is noise, and you have a right not to be disturbed.
Here’s the best way for you to handle a noise issue:
Step 1.
Call 311. While 311 may not always resolve your issue, it’s important to get your issue logged and into the system. Make sure you ask for, and receive, a Service Request Number.
This number will have the format: C1-1-XXXXXXXXX
Step 2.
Give 311 a chance to work. Hopefully, this will take care of the issue. However, after an hour, if they have not responded to your complaint – and the noise issue persists – then you should call the 102nd Precinct directly at: 718-805-3200
Step 3.
Take down as much information as you can when calling the precinct. Write down what time you called and the name of the Police Officer that you spoke to. Hopefully, the 102nd Precinct will dispatch a unit and your problem will taken care of.
Step 4.
If your problem does not get resolved, then you need to report this issue to the Block Association. You can call us directly at our 24-hour phone line (718-296-3735) , or via email. We will need all of the information you collected above – the 311 Service Request Number, details of your call to the 102nd Precinct, the location and exact address of the offender, etc.
Other Things You Should Know
Car Radio Noise
It’s easy enough to file a noise complaint when it’s at a static location. But if you are complaining about noise from passing cars, it’s a lot harder for the police to stop.
Or if you have a specific consistent offender, it would help if you could pinpoint a location (e.g. intersection and a time where the noise is common.
Barking Dogs
The Police Department and the 102nd Precinct are not responsible for handling barking dogs. While you can try reporting barking dogs to 311, these types of complaints should be directed to Animal Control: 1-800-714-8727.
The Woodhaven Residents' Block Association has a program to report out-of-state vehicles that have remained parked on a Woodhaven street for extended periods of time.
Woodhaven residents should
contact the WRBA if an automobile with license plates from outside New York has been parked on their street for more than a month. After gathering information from the caller, the WRBA will contact the appropriate agency from the vehicle's state to inform them of the vehicle's whereabouts and to ask them to investigate whether the vehicle is appropriately registered.
“Parking has historically been hard to find in Woodhaven," said WRBA Director Vance Barbour. "If these vehicles' owners are dodging local state regulations, and skipping out on paying fees to New York State like the rest of the community pays, we owe it to our residents to call it to the attention of the proper authorities.”
The program is a response to many Woodhaven residents' complaints about out-of-state vehicles taking up parking spaces and potentially evading the law.
Many residents have already contacted the WRBA to make use of this program, which has received significant media attention:
- New York Daily News, "Woodhaven residents track cars with non-New York license plates parked for extended periods," by Lisa L. Colangelo, 1/15/2010
- WPIX, "Woodhaven Residents Battle Over Parking Spaces," by Jackie Hyland, 1/14/2010
- Queens Courier, "WRBA tackles out-of-state parkers," by Michael Fiacco, 1/19/2010
- FindLaw, "New Yorkers Start Tracking License Plate Numbers," by Minara El-Rahman, 1/22/2010
After prolonged efforts by the Woodhaven Residents' Block Association and the Greater Woodhaven Development Corporation, Woodhaven has been named one of only seven Queens neighborhoods in which homeowners can choose to prevent solicitations from real estate agents.
New York's Secretary of State renewed Woodhaven's status as a "cease-and-desist zone," meaning that Woodhaven homeowners can be placed on a list to ensure that they receive no real estate solicitations -- including phone calls, mailings, and door-to-door visits -- to sell their properties. To be placed on the list, the required form can be submitted electronically at
http://www.dos.state.ny.us/lcns/cdform.asp.
The WRBA urges all homeowners to fill out the very simple form, so that they can enjoy the benefits of Woodhaven's cease-and-desist coverage. Woodhaven residents who would like a paper copy of the form mailed to them should call the WRBA office at (718) 296-3735.
Woodhaven's cease-and-desist coverage has received substantial news coverage:
- NY1 News, "Homeowners Laud Cease And Desist Renewal In Woodhaven," by Tammy Mutasa, 8/5/2010
- Queens Chronicle, "Woodhaven is C&D Zone," 7/29/2010
- Queens Courier, "Cease and desist renewed for Woodhaven," 7/26/2010
