KICKED TO THE CURB
Hizzoner rips billionaire’s parking spot ‘Shameful abuse of public space’
Curb your enthusiasm — the battle over a Manhattan billionaire’s private parking space isn’t over yet.
A spokesman for ex-hedge fund honcho Noam Gottesman — accused by neighbors of flouting city laws to carve himself out a faux “driveway” on busy Washington St. — contended on Tuesday that his client had gotten permission from the Department of Buildings in 2011 to make a curb cut in front of the massive corner compound.
But the agency says it has 2008 blueprints for the sprawling home that show Gottesman, 58, initially had a study slated for the space his employees now say is a garage — and none of the original plans show a curb cut on the sidewalk in front of the property.
Spurred by the driveway donnybrook first reported by the Daily News, a Buildings Department inspector showed up at Gottesman’s property Tuesday with a tape measure in hand to assess the curb cut in front of the palatial three-story home. City officials told The News the building’s owner would be slapped with a violation for the controversial cut, which the Buildings Department insists was installed without proper permits.
“This is a shameful abuse of public space that we won’t tolerate. The building owner needs to play by the same rules as everyone else, no matter how deep his pockets are, which is why we’ve instructed the Buildings Department to investigate further and take whatever enforcement actions are needed,” Mayor de Blasio spokeswoman Marcy Miranda said.
The News highlighted the bizarre case in a front page story featuring Gottesman’s neighbor Eyal Levin, 52, who for years refused to recognize the billionaire’s curb cut as a legitimate driveway. When he parked there on May 23, someone at Gottesman’s residence had Levin’s silver Camry towed.
Levin said the spot has never been used as a driveway, but is a convenient way for Gottesman to get deliveries dropped off.
“It was never used for a car to get in there,” Levin said. “If there was an actual driveway I wouldn’t be thinking about parking there … It’s imaginary!”
Gottesman’s spokesman says DOB gave the curb cut its approval in 2011. A document from May of that year showed that then-Buildings Borough Commissioner Derek Lee signed off on a request to let Gottesman “keep the existing curb cut, convenience ramp and the door.”
“The owner of the building has a hobby of art collection,” the document reads.
The document noted that the approval would expire if certain conditions were not met.
But a DOB spokesman pointed to blueprints submitted to the agency in 2008 for Gottesman’s soon-to-be-built mansion. Those documents show a study in the space now described as a garage. Other blueprints show architects drew no curb cut where the “driveway” currently exists.
New details have also emerged about a Buildings Department violation issued earlier this year against the curb cut, which carried with it a possible $500 fine. An inspector went to the house after a complaint was made, the agency said.
On May 6, a representative for Gottesman, Chris Middleton, attended a hearing before an administrative law judge to address the violation. In audio obtained by The News, Middleton claimed that the black doors to Gottesman’s home can be opened like a garage, allowing a car to drive up what he called a “convenience ramp.”
A rep for the Department of Buildings failed to appear at the hearing. Middleton persuaded hearing officer Lyda Tyburec to vacate the $500 fine after walking her through the history of the property since the 1930s, when it served as a meat factory and later a parking garage. It served as a photo studio in the 1980s.
“To be honest with you some neighbor wants to park there. He’s angry he can’t park there,” Middleton told the judge.
“[The Buildings Department] has specially approved the continued use of this curb cut twice,” he claimed at the hearing. “There’s no work without a permit. This has been there for 30 years and even though the neighbors are unhappy they can’t park there it’s too bad because they got permission for it.”
He added that the case was “pretty cut and dry” and that he’d presented the hearing officer with “solid proof.”
The hearing officer dismissed the fine after she determined that the summons for the curb cut did “not include any facts to constitute a violation” under the cited buildings code.
Buildings spokesman Joe Soldevere previously told The News that plans for the building do not show any curb cuts and that the current certificate of occupancy does not reflect a legal curb cut.
Council Speaker Corey Johnson, who represents the district, said swift action should be taken once the red tape settles the issue.
“My constituents are very upset about this and my office has been pressing the Department of Buildings for answers. If this curb cut is illegal, then it should be removed immediately,” Johnson said.
Levin said he was happy to have taken a stand.
“The whole neighborhood is buzzing. A lot of neighbors, including seniors, have come to me and texted me and said, ‘Thank you! This has been bothering us for a while,’” he said.