Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New York

I am having a few problems with my neighbor that I could definitely use some help with!

The neighbor in question has party after party, most of which consist of teenagers and young adults, who may or may not be of legal drinking age. The parties often include large outdoor gatherings and bonfires. These parties are very loud and are a true nuisance to me. I have put up with this for the year and a half that I have owned my home. I have never complained until this weekend, although I have been tempted to many times in the past. The party they had this past Saturday night consisted of at least 75 kids. They were very loud and running around outside. They also had a huge bonfire going. There were cars parked on both sides of the street, making it difficult for cars to pass down my road. There is no way an emergency vehicle (fire truck) would have been able to get through. There were kids partying in cars parked directly in front of my house. I could clearly see them passing around a bottle of vodka and smoking pot. It took two calls to the police before the party was ended. The parents were home the entire time.

When the kids are partying outside, I am afraid that they are spilling over on to my property. I am not comfortable with the liability this creates for me if one of these kids gets hurt. My other concern is the fires they build. If one of these fires got out of control, or was built on my property, would I be held accountable?

As a result of this party, I decided to take it upon myself to locate the survey markers that mark the property boundaries with this neighbor. With the help of a good friend (who works part time with a surveyor), we were able to locate two of the survey markers at the back end of their property (my property cuts back behind their property behind their house). We then went to the street to try to locate the marker that should have been in that vicinity between our two homes. As we were searching for the marker, the neighbor confronted us and asked us what we were doing. My friend informed her that we were searching for the survey markers. She then asked, �Why? Are you going to put up a fence?� I told her that I was not sure what I was going to do. She then proceeded to try to tell us where the property line was located, at least in her mind. Of course, this did not match up with the survey map. My friend kept searching where he thought the marker should be and came across some orange tape similar to the kind you would find on a survey marker. He asked her if she knew what had happened to the post and she said that she had removed it 10 years ago. As I understand it, this is illegal. She then continued to point out the property line and stated that it was not a straight line � according to the map it clearly is a straight line.

The property line is definitely an issue. I believe they know exactly where the line is, they were just hoping that I was clueless. In December, they cut a tree down. I am pretty sure that the tree is theirs, but it is very close to the property line. They did, however, drop the tree on to what is definitely my property. I was away two weeks ago � my father, who was watching my house, caught the husband cutting up the tree on my property. Again, I am not comfortable with people being on my property� especially when they are doing something potentially dangerous. When he saw my father he ran into his house so I am sure he knew he was in the wrong.

These are the issues I need advice on:

1) I hate fences � what can be put up instead of a fence to clearly mark the property line and keep my neighbors from entering my property?

2) Signage � What signage is legal and how much of it can I put up? Does signage cover me if someone is trespassing on my property and gets hurt?

3) Who in my village should I contact about my problems � the police, the zoning board, or another entity?

4) Since my neighbor admitted to pulling out the survey marker, can they be made to pay for the survey (or at least part of it) I am having done to put the marker back in?

5) This neighbor added a side porch to their house last summer � how close can the porch be to the property line? I think it is very close to the line.


Asked on 3/27/12, 9:12 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Kevin Connolly Kevin J. Connolly

I had such a problem neighbor. Instead of a fence, I took a series of poles painted day-glow orange, green and purple and arranged them artistically one inch inside the property line. I set up a camera with a motion detector, which captured the ADULTS tearing down my art installation. The police refused to get involved, so I filed a civil lawsuit. Not small claims: this calls for big-boy court.

In the meantime, make sure you have enough homeowner's liability insurance. There is nothing you can do to prevent the little darlings from starting a fistfight on your land and suing you for their injuries.

When they enter your property, it's trespass. Call 911.

Removing a surevy marker is a crime. Talk to your District Attorney.

Side porch: without your zip code, I can't tell. If this is in the NYC area, feel free to contact me; my firm may be able to help you.

Read more
Answered on 3/27/12, 9:40 am


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