Dear Roosevelt Court Resident,

Do you have concerns about your immediate neighborhood? While the Roosevelt Court Association (RCA) is not a law-making or enforcing body, our organization has a long tradition of serving our block to facilitate civilized discussion. Owners and renters in our court are always welcome to raise neighborhood issues in our group. Most issues surface first on our email group—please email jessenover@yahoo.com to get yourself added to the list!

A number of matters have been discussed via email and at our meetings and we would like to offer some guidelines, mostly based on city regulations mixed with some common sense and a good dose of simple courtesy.

Use and Maintenance of the Open Court

Neighbors in the North Court and in the two half court sections of the Middle Court have the rear halves of their backyards joined to form an open court. RCA collects voluntary gardening payments from those residents and organizes some professional gardening as well as volunteer events for leaf raking, pruning, etc. RCA also hosts small neighborly get-togethers there (such as BBQs and pumpkin carving) about two or three times a year.

However, that does not make those open courts (or any of the other accessible backyards and pathways) a public park or playground. Unfortunately, there were several instances where children have upset owners of those unfenced gardens by playing ball, walking over or falling into plantings, and climbing trees. Please be mindful that those areas remain those neighbors’ private backyards, just as much as other, fully fenced-in gardens in the center and southern parts of our court. Likewise, the easements between the fenced-in backyards are not meant for play. Having children run up and down the narrow pathways through the easements is disturbing for neighbors and potentially dangerous for the children. We encourage you to contact your neighbors directly if you sense a problem with access to and use of the open courts. Gardening-related matters of the open court can be directed to Jesse Nover (jessenover@yahoo.com), chair of the RCA Gardening Committee.

Noise

Neighbors have sometimes been disturbed by loud music and parties outdoors, particularly when they continue into later hours when many of us sleep or simply expect peace and quiet. Please be mindful of your neighbors when entertaining in your backyard and control the volume and timing. For reference, here is the relevant part of the New York City Administrative Code - Noise Code:

§ 24-218 General prohibitions.

(a) No person shall make, continue or cause or permit to be made or continued any unreasonable noise.

         (b) Unreasonable noise shall include but shall not be limited to sound, attributable to any device, that exceeds the following prohibited noise levels:

         (1) Sound, other than impulsive sound, attributable to the source, measured at a level of 7 dB(A) or more above the ambient sound level at or after 10:00 p.m. and before 7:00 a.m., as measured at any point within a receiving property or as measured at a distance of 15 feet or more from the source on a public right-of-way.

         (2) Sound, other than impulsive sound, attributable to the source, measured at a level of 10 dB(A) or more above the ambient sound level at or after 7:00 a.m. and before 10:00 p.m., as measured at any point within a receiving property or as measured at a distance of 15 feet or more from the source on a public right-of-way.

         (3) Impulsive sound, attributable to the source, measured at a level of 15 dB(A) or more above the ambient sound level, as measured at any point within a receiving property or as measured at a distance of 15 feet or more from the source on a public right-of-way. Impulsive sound levels shall be measured in the A-weighting network with the sound level meter set to fast response. The ambient sound level shall be taken in the A-weighting network with the sound level meter set to slow response.[...]

The city has other detailed, and different, regulations on construction noise, in particular on the legal hours for such work. The city also regulates vehicle and equipment noise differently. If you are interested, you can read a simple summary of the NYC Noise Code here: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/noise_code_guide.pdf . You can find the complete noise code here: www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/law05113.pdf . Search your smartphone app store for simple apps that can help you measure the noise level around you.

If your neighbors’ noise is disturbing you, please make an effort to reach out to them directly in a friendly way before you call 911. (311 is NOT taking noise complaints, and the police will only respond if they don’t have anything more urgent to deal with.)

Planter Maintenance

RCA—with the help of Home Depot, Citizens Committee For New York City, and City Council member Jimmy van Bramer—arranged for the placement and planting of 25 planters on the sidewalks lining our court on 47th and 48th Streets. Many of them are still holding up well. If you have one in front of your home, please water the plants in dry weather and pick up litter that sometimes finds its way in there. If you want to add new plants to your planter, we advise you to secure them with zip ties or wire because plant theft unfortunately does occur in Sunnyside.

RCA will remove or relocate your planter if it is falling apart or if you no longer want it. Please contact Jesse Nover (jessenover@yahoo.com) or ask your immediate neighbors if you need help with the planter maintenance.

Sidewalk Plantings & Tree Care

Generally, New York City is responsible for the care of the trees growing on the narrow planting strip of the sidewalk, adjacent to the street. The Department of Parks seems to send a pruning crew every five years or so. If you have a safety concern about a particular tree, please call 311 or 911, depending on the urgency.

However, homeowners are responsible for the safety of trees growing in their front and back yards. Tree pruning can be expensive, but RCA currently provides a 15% subsidy to encourage this important work. Please contact Jesse Nover (jessenover@yahoo.com) to learn how to qualify for this subsidy. (First come first serve as funds are limited.)

If you would like to request a new street tree for your planting strip, please contact NYC Parks at http://www.nycgovparks.org/services/forestry/request/submit . Also note that the city regularly conducts tree giveaways as part of the Million Trees program: https://www.nyrp.org/green-spaces/tree-giveaway . These trees can be used in front and backyards, but not in the planting strip.

Please make sure that your trees and bushes do not grow into the sidewalk. It is illegal and unneighborly for your plants to force pedestrians:

●      to walk single-file or in a zig-zag pattern to avoid your plants,

●      to wait to pass another pedestrian because your plants are obstructing the sidewalk, and/or

●      to duck underneath your plants or trees.

If you cannot take care of the necessary pruning yourself, please contact Dietmar Detering (dietmar@eventme.com).

Sidewalk Safety

Generally, New York City legally requires property owners to maintain the sidewalk in a safe condition. Please don’t wait for a citation by city inspectors if your sidewalk poses a hazard. Keep in mind that our sidewalks see all kinds of users and your sidewalk should not cause any pedestrian, frail or agile, to stumble. In case of injury, property owners can be held liable. Consult with a licensed insurance agent or broker to arrange for a homeowners (or renters) insurance policy containing an appropriate level of liability coverage.

In front of one-, two-, and three-family homes not used for commercial purposes and occupied by the owner only (legally designated as NYC Tax Class 1), NYC Department of Parks’ sidewalk repair program can help repair severe sidewalk damage caused by root growth. Funding for the program is limited, however. Call 311 for details.

The alleyways connecting 47th and 48th Streets across our backyards are not public sidewalks and are not subject to the same regulations. However, homeowners could still be held liable in case of injuries. Consult a lawyer for details.

You can bring traffic and safety matters and your concerns to the attention of the RCA Traffic and Safety Committee, chaired by John Liebmann (jliebmann@nyc.rr.com) .

Snow, Litter, and Dog Poop

We all know that the city threatens hefty fines for all who “forget” to pick up their dog’s poop or who litter themselves. However, once litter or poop (or snow, for that matter) is on the sidewalk, property owners are ultimately responsible for cleaning it up.

If you find dog poop in front of your property, please don’t wait for it to disappear into your neighbors’ homes. Cleaning it up yourself is your legal responsibility and the right thing to do. Call 311 to complain about the lack of pooper scooper enforcement and perhaps install a surveillance system to combat the problem.

If you have a dog, please pick up after it, whether on the sidewalk or on your own front or back yard. Leaving dog poop anywhere is illegal, unneighborly and unsanitary.

Removing litter from your property ultimately is your responsibility too, even if you didn’t put it there. Again, calling 311 and installing a surveillance system may help.

When it snows, property owners are responsible for cleaning their sidewalk no later than 4 hours after it stops snowing (or by 11 a.m. if the snow stops after 9 p.m.). If this is a problem for you, please ask for professional help or reach out to your neighbors. If you are elderly or have a health condition that does not allow you to shovel snow, please contact Dietmar Detering (ddetering@eventme.com), chair of the Snow Removal Committee.

Wildlife, Rabies, and Your Garbage

While you may put garbage out for pick-up in plastic bags, the New York City Health Code mandates that you store your garbage and recycling in rodent- and insect-proof containers. Please don’t offer our neighborhood roaches, mice, rats, squirrels, opossums, and raccoons a 24/7 buffet.

To limit the nuisance and danger raccoons can pose:

●      Always feed pets indoors to avoid attracting raccoons and other pests.

●      Keep your garbage and recycling areas clean, and make sure these

●      containers are tightly sealed.

●      Buy a raccoon-resistant trash container, or place a weight on the lid of your garbage bin.

●      Seal all openings to your home, garage and outdoor sheds.

●      Replace torn screens and fix broken windows.

●      Trim tree branches that raccoons could use to climb onto your roof.

●      Fence in areas underneath decks.

Never attempt to capture or trap a raccoon. You may need to hire a licensed professional Nuisance Wildlife Control Operator. Visit the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation at dec.ny.gov, and search wildlife control to find a wildlife trapper near you.

Call 311 to report a sick raccoon or if a raccoon scratches or bites you or your pet. A rabid raccoon may

●      Appear sick or injured

●      Convulse or shake uncontrollably

●      Stumble or have trouble standing

●      Act unusually friendly or aggressive

Mosquitoes

With one more dangerous disease (Zika virus) likely to reach our now-local Asian tiger mosquitoes (Aedes albopictus) as their carriers, we must limit the mosquitoes’ opportunity to breed wherever possible. While the Aedes mosquitoes are active in the daytime, we also have plenty of Culex pipiens, known as the common house mosquito, active at night, and they are the primary carriers of encephalitis viruses. Both Culex and Aedes are vectors of the West Nile virus.

Light traps and carbon dioxide traps used by mosquito control programs are for monitoring purposes and cannot be used to reduce mosquito numbers. However, because mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing or slow moving water, there is plenty we can do to fight them:

●      Eliminate any standing water that collects on your property.

●      Seal unused drains around the house against mosquitoes bound to lay their eggs in the moist environment of your sewer and stormwater lines. You can often see mosquitoes coming out of the outdoor drains at the basement entrance. To control, you can spray insecticides into such active drains after rains if you are unable to seal it.

●      Dispose of tin cans, plastic containers, ceramic pots, or similar water-holding containers.

●      Make sure roof gutters drain properly. Clean clogged gutters in the spring and fall.

●      Check your flat roof for puddles of standing water.

●      Clean and chlorinate kiddie swimming pools. When not in use, keep them empty and covered.

●      Keep any ornamental pond stocked with fish that control mosquito larvae and make sure its sides are sufficiently steep for your fish to eat all larvae. If this is not possible, maintain a treatment with larvicide or drain and remove the pond.

●      Drain water from pool covers and tarps.

●      Change the water in birdbaths at least every 3 or 4 days.

●      Turn over plastic wading pools, buckets, pots and wheelbarrows when not in use.

●      Cut back dense shrubbery where not desired—mosquitoes love the shelter such vegetation provides from sun and wind.

●      Remind or help neighbors to eliminate mosquito-breeding sites on their properties.

Mosquitoes do not move far from where they hatch, so eliminating their breeding grounds in our yards alone will make it much more pleasant and safe to spend time in our gardens. If you need help checking your property for problems or taking care of inaccessible areas like gutters, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your neighbors or contact Dietmar Detering (ddetering@eventme.com), RCA president.

Historic Preservation

Sunnyside Gardens has had a long history as a neighborhood with a unique historic heritage. The issue of historic preservation became pressing in the late 1960s, when the 40-year covenants that the original homeowners entered into expired. Some homeowners then began to drastically change the look of the gardens by fencing in open spaces, building driveways and making other architectural and landscaping alterations.

In 1974, New York City changed its zoning law to name Sunnyside Gardens a Special Planned Community Preservation District. This meant that alterations in the size of buildings, new construction, and the fencing-in of open spaces required a special permit from the City Planning Commission. In 1984, Sunnyside Gardens was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

In 2007, the New York City Landmark Preservation Commission declared Sunnyside Gardens a historic district. This means that the Commission legally protects the external appearance of all buildings and the garden areas. It also provides assistance to homeowners in preserving the historic character of their properties. Guidelines for homeowners are available at: http://www.rooseveltcourt.org/Guide.pdf and we also provide a printed copy for your convenience.

Crime and Public Safety

Crime is a fact of life in our city. If you see suspicious activity, don’t hesitate to call 911, even if you are not sure whether a crime is occurring. Let the police investigate. Because we live so close to our neighbors, we can all help each other by keeping an eye on our neighbors’ properties as well as our own. Neighbors like you have stopped crime by picking up the phone or shouting out the window. You may also want to consider an alarm system or motion-sensing lights.

The 108th Precinct Community Council provides a forum to meet and discuss crime and safety issues with our local police force. Meetings are held on the last Tuesday of the month, and all are welcome to attend. The meetings are held at 7:00 p.m. at Sunnyside Community Services, at 41-31 39th Street, on the 1st floor.

Finally…

This is a living document and will be updated regularly online at http://www.RooseveltCourt.org and before future print distributions. Your feedback and the ongoing discussions, whether in person on the street or in our meetings, or in our email group online, will drive improvements and expansions to help our neighborhood.