Getting to the root of things
City repaving fiasco remedied
Dear John: For the last seven months I have been trapped between the bungling bureaucratic clutches of the New York City Parks Department and the Department of Design and Construction (DDC).
During December 2018, the sidewalk in front of my Brooklyn property was repaved under the auspices of the Transportation Department’s local Sidewalks Repair Project.
In the course of the repair, the paving contractor utilized by the DDC arbitrarily extended the tree pit area facing the rear of my driveway approximately two feet by removing the previously paved surface. This resulted in obstructing the egress entering and exiting my driveway.
This unwarranted extension of the tree pit area has caused a nightmare situation for my family by causing us to drive over a deep, often muddy depression created by the obstructing extended tree pit.
It has also created a chronic illegally blocked driveway situation, as vehicle owners now perceive the edge of the extended tree pit to be the legal parking guideline instead of the straightaway driveway line.
In January, the DDC’s Community Construction Liaison (CCL) and an engineer from his agency visited the site and agreed that the extension of the tree pit was erroneous and should be corrected by repaving over the extended tree pit area that is causing obstruction of my driveway.
However, they informed me that they were powerless to compel the Parks Department to initiate the repair, because Parks has sole jurisdiction over the city’s tree areas.
Initially, the Parks Department resisted my requests to restore the paved driveway through the tree pit area because of their concerns relating to the health and vitality of the tree roots.
After writing to the Commissioner of Parks and with the helpful intervention of my local City Councilman’s office, on May 1, the Parks Department finally reversed its position, and granted the DDC permission to restore the tree pit area to the original paved condition.
Incredibly, the DDC, upon notification that the Parks Department had given them the green light to restore my driveway street access to its original condition, then reneged on its commitment to effect the repair and resurrected the tree root issue!
Any assistance that you can provide to rectify this deplorable situation would be forever appreciated. Donald Kempler
Dear Donald: As you now know, I called the necessary people and your driveway has been fully restored. The city said your job was on its list.
“Please apologize to the homeowner on DDC’s behalf for the confusion,” says someone from Department of Design and Construction.
Enjoy your driveway and your tree. I’m, ahem, rooting for both of you.