Other News Sources Pick Up on the Courtyard Problem

We've certainly covered the problems with the courtyards in Carroll Gardens (the "gardens" themselves), some would say, ad nauseum.Now, print media is "picking up" the story. Too bad that they don't realize that the courtyard are city right-of-way, and therefore the province of the DOT. From the Brooklyn Paper:

"A quirk in city zoning states that the front yards along First, Second, Third and Fourth places are to be used “for courtyards only.” The rule stems from a decades-old decision to designate the front yards of homes on those blocks as actually part of the street, not the homeowner’s lot, giving the city control over what is built there.

None of the homes with curb cuts ever applied for a permit to do so, Sullivan noted, and the cuts would only be legal if they lead to a back garage or off-courtyard use.

She said inspectors would be dispatched to the block and would dispense violations if they confirm this newspaper’s indisputable findings.

“It looks like a trailer park,” agreed Maria Pagano, president of the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association, a civic group determined to have the city enforce the law."

Calling it a "quirk" is somewhat offensive. Of course, so is calling it a "trailer park". A more realistic comparison might be Sheepshead Bay, or Kew Gardens.

It is also odd that later in the article, the paper seems to say that the neighborhood won a battle against Hannah Senesh, when it is clear that Hannah Senesh is the worst offender of the topic that they are discussing for the rest of the article!