Snow and Ice Traps Cars in Rented Backyard Spaces


by on Mar 3rd, 2009

A Sheepshead Bay renter, Donnie, who pays $100 for half of a small, backyard parking space — where he can park, but he can’t leave — is up in arms about not getting his money’s worth.

This situation is occurring on an “East Street” between Ave Y and Ave X, but the angry renter didn’t want us to share the exact address. He says that the address is not important, since he suspects that this type of thing is happening all around Sheepshead Bay where there is a shared driveway.

He explains that whenever it snows or when the moisture on the ground freezes up, he is unable to remove his car from the backyard parking spot. Attempts to move the car by going up the inclined driveway were too treacherous and caused his vehicle, which doesn’t have 4-wheel drive, to slide backward. Now, he simply leaves his car in the spot until the ice and snow have melted.

Read more about the snowed-in parking after the jump.

The parking space renter told us that he would gladly shovel the snow himself, but due to back and shoulder injuries is unable to do so — adding that even if he was strong enough to shovel, why should he have to shovel a shared driveway “for people who own half-a-million dollar homes”.

Donnie says that he is getting tired of having his car locked in during adverse weather conditions. He goes on to say that having to pay $100 to park his car in a tiny, shared and uncovered space near the house’s back door is bad enough, but when his car is trapped, he is forced to use public transportation and car service.

He asked, “Why can’t they clean up the driveway when they clean up their own space?” Pointing to the spaces that had been cleaned off, he added “You see? While the snow is still soft, they take their car out and find street parking.”

When I pointed to the impacted snow on the sloped driveway which looked as though a few cars were able to get out, he said that it “is a mystery” to him how they those cars got traction — adding, “maybe they have chains on their tires or someone helped push the car”.

Donnie says that he tried many times to resolve the situation with the homeowner — who willingly collects the $100 cash every month for the teensy space — but has gotten nowhere. The homeowner says that she is not responsible for cleaning up the shared driveway, since none of the other residents are interested in working together to fix the problem for all these years.

Donnie has come to Sheepshead Bites to ask us for any help or advice about what can be done, with hopes that one of our readers has faced a similar problem and found a solution.

Readers, if you have any advice for Donnie, please write immediately.

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  • local broker

    find another spot or clean it pay some kid 10-20 bucks to clean it

  • http://www.nedberke.com Ned Berke

    Well, I don’t know if the guy should pay someone to clean it. He’s already paying $100 a month just for the spot.

    If I were him I’d probably bail on the spot and find somewhere else. Dealing with some jerk landlord (spotlord? what do you call these people?) who thinks he doesn’t have to maintain his property because tenants may own more expensive property – or because “no one else is doing anything about it” – well, thanks, but no thanks. I’d probably be willing to pay a little more each month just to be able to tell that guy to shove off.

  • Bill

    Get a bag of salt, spread it on the driveway and drive away. Why would $100/mo include snow removal? Do you get a discount in the summer when there is no snow?

  • local broker

    i rent out a spot also and i pay way more than that and no one cleans it at 6 in the morning if i got to go i clean it if the landlord is not maintaining his sidewalk thats a different problem

  • Anonymous

    All lame advice.

    Get a bag of salt. Clean it yourself at 6 a.m. Suggest to the renter to hire a kid for $10-20 to clean the huge back easement and sloped driveway for 30 or so property owners who are too cheap and lazy to do it. Go find another greedy landowner renting a spot for even more money.

    The comment about getting a discount in the summer when there is no snow is just simply unbelievable.

    Paying for a parking spot includes the ability to be able to walk near your car and to drive it away when you need to, at the very least.

  • Reader

    Depends on what the agreement was. Some people would rather pay the 100 bucks instead of 120 or 150 and take care of the spot/driveway themselves. Others pay 200 for a nice ground level garage spot.

    I also think that characterizing “”people who own half-a-million dollar homes” and not realizing that they may OWE 525k in these economic times is little one sided. Everyone is doing their best to get by and renters are free to pick and choose. ESPECIALLY a parking spot renter. You can just park in another spot next month. Very little ties you to the original spot except the knowledge that you are ALREADY getting a good deal.

    BTW: There is always free parking on the street!

  • Anthony

    Interesting predicament. I wonder if there is a legal precedent involved. Was there a contract? It would seem to me that for 100 clams a month, the guy should be able to access the spot without much difficulty. As the owner of a rental house, I am responsible for a certain amount of general upkeep on the property. I would think the same thing should apply to the owners of the spot. Without a written agreement though, there isn’t likely a way to enforce their end of the deal. A bag of salt is cheap enough to take care of ice but snow is another story. I think if the spot owners aren’t willing to pay at least half the cost of having it shoveled, it’s time to move on to greener pastures.

  • local broker

    find another spot or clean it pay some kid 10-20 bucks to clean it

  • http://www.nedberke.com Ned Berke

    Well, I don’t know if the guy should pay someone to clean it. He’s already paying $100 a month just for the spot.

    If I were him I’d probably bail on the spot and find somewhere else. Dealing with some jerk landlord (spotlord? what do you call these people?) who thinks he doesn’t have to maintain his property because tenants may own more expensive property – or because “no one else is doing anything about it” – well, thanks, but no thanks. I’d probably be willing to pay a little more each month just to be able to tell that guy to shove off.

  • Bill

    Get a bag of salt, spread it on the driveway and drive away. Why would $100/mo include snow removal? Do you get a discount in the summer when there is no snow?

  • local broker

    i rent out a spot also and i pay way more than that and no one cleans it at 6 in the morning if i got to go i clean it if the landlord is not maintaining his sidewalk thats a different problem

  • Anonymous

    All lame advice.

    Get a bag of salt. Clean it yourself at 6 a.m. Suggest to the renter to hire a kid for $10-20 to clean the huge back easement and sloped driveway for 30 or so property owners who are too cheap and lazy to do it. Go find another greedy landowner renting a spot for even more money.

    The comment about getting a discount in the summer when there is no snow is just simply unbelievable.

    Paying for a parking spot includes the ability to be able to walk near your car and to drive it away when you need to, at the very least.

  • Guest

    Depends on what the agreement was. Some people would rather pay the 100 bucks instead of 120 or 150 and take care of the spot/driveway themselves. Others pay 200 for a nice ground level garage spot.

    I also think that characterizing “”people who own half-a-million dollar homes” and not realizing that they may OWE 525k in these economic times is little one sided. Everyone is doing their best to get by and renters are free to pick and choose. ESPECIALLY a parking spot renter. You can just park in another spot next month. Very little ties you to the original spot except the knowledge that you are ALREADY getting a good deal.

    BTW: There is always free parking on the street!

  • Anthony

    Interesting predicament. I wonder if there is a legal precedent involved. Was there a contract? It would seem to me that for 100 clams a month, the guy should be able to access the spot without much difficulty. As the owner of a rental house, I am responsible for a certain amount of general upkeep on the property. I would think the same thing should apply to the owners of the spot. Without a written agreement though, there isn’t likely a way to enforce their end of the deal. A bag of salt is cheap enough to take care of ice but snow is another story. I think if the spot owners aren’t willing to pay at least half the cost of having it shoveled, it’s time to move on to greener pastures.