This wall builder must not be a real contractor, or he would have known to get a variance and permit first.      He must have been a real cracker-jack with Legos as a kid!

The neighbor has more patience than anyone I know.  If I opened my window to concrete I would have turned into Janezilla!    And I guarantee; the wall would have been down already!

Jane

erbk,

   i think your perscription may have run out.

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Sorry, I did not read all the comments. It sounds like bunch of Nazis gathering! Does anyone in this country still think that individuals have RIGHTS? I read this and smell – Iran?!? Thank you, John. As reward – go and get yourself a tattoo. Swastikas, may be?

I just wanted you to know that despite your story which aired on Tues. night, May 12, and the 3 stop work orders, Mr. Cunningham and two 'helpers' were working on the property drilling a hole into the concrete BENEATH the cinderblock wall against the Gershons' house with a 4 or 5 inch drill bit. So you see how he disregards not only the neighbors but legal decisions as well.

I was born in Bay Ridge and my Dad's family owned the house that the wall is up against. I spent every Sunday in that house having dinner with my family and can not believe this has happened. I think it is such a disgrace. I have such fond memories of the house and the neighborhood and can not believe that this wall is still standing. Such beautiful light used to come through those stained glass windows. I can't imagine having a view of a concrete wall. I am glad you did this story and I hope you continue to push and get this wall torn down.

Good luck!

the self-cert, he could probably self-suck too, has been terminated because of all the corrupt business practices. this is my recollection from 2008.

to address this issue, take a bottle of johnnie black, attach a dew rag and toss it like a baseball. right where the i-beam meets RC support, so that the intense heat will melt the steel and collapse the wall into his lot, completely in one motion.

as the late great yes sir arafet said, "one man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter". no more inspections, no more criminal complaints, we all know the nypd is a bunch of skum self-sucking alcoholics.

the right to bear arms shall not be abridged, now who said that, oh yeah, another terrorist, or was he a freedom fighter? gee i don't know, i guess it is in the eyes of the beholder. in this case, all the roman catholics care about is souls, the more the merrier.

so i say bomb his ass, fire bomb him like we did in places like vietnam, loas, cambodia, iraq 1, iraq 2, afghanistan, pakistan, places like that.

oh yeah, make sure you wait for the oil delivery truck so it can be blamed on arab oil.

good luck

I appreciate all the comments, keep them coming in.  If anybody has a creative way to solve this problem quick, please let us know.

this project was one of those "self certified" jobs.  That simply means the city relies on the architect to do what is legal and safe.

at some point in the process the city said hold on here  and stopped work.

the city eventually charged him criminally.

as far as safety goes, there is a possibilty that the weight of the new project is actually pushing down on the footing of the neighbors house.  this could lead to structural problems and a safety issue.

What about safety?  God forbid there was ever a fire... how would anyone on that side of the house get out?

First of all, how can Building Department approve this project?  As per building code, the floor ratio doesn't allow you to building up against the property line, and specially in Bay Ridge, NY.  The set back are provide space between houses and prevent this situation from happening.  Unless "Mr. Cummingham" wanted more and go against the law and the BLDG code.  The wall should be demolish ASAP by "Mr. Cummingham", and he doesn't do it.  Then the NYC Building Department should take action and demo this wall.

I guess the city can continue to press on with the criminal charges, he could wind up in jail for failing to obey the Dept. of Building's orders.

and if it continues maybe we could try to chat with mr. cunningham again.

tear the wall down

I completely sympathize.  Just because there is nothing on the books- it shouldn't mean you have nothing against the guy who wants to build a wall *2* inches from your house!  That's outrageous.  Why would he want to be so close to your building anyway?!?  What a complete jerk!