Opinion

MILTIMORE, CONSTANTIN: Why Is De Blasio’s Administration Harassing A Private Citizen?

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Jon Miltimore, Andra Constantin Foundation for Economic Education
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The Big Apple is abuzz. Billionaire investor Noam Gottesman allegedly was caught with an illegally cut, fake driveway outside his West Village residence. 

“This is a shameful abuse of public space that we won’t tolerate. The building owner needs to play by the same rules as everyone else, no matter how deep his pockets are,” said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s spokeswoman Marcy Miranda.

“Just another case of rich-ass people doing rich-ass things,” a writer in “The Cut” wrote

“TOW-TAL JERK,” brayed a cover line in the New York Daily News, according to Vanity Fair.

Seething at the 1 percent seems to be a pastime in New York of late. Yet evidence suggests this anger is misplaced, as public records show the city approved Gottesman’s space on multiple occasions.  

A matter of public record

Reporters may have forgotten that New York is a remarkably transparent city, a practice that started under Mayor Bloomberg and continues under de Blasio.

A perusing of public records reveals that the latest plans related to Gottesman’s curb cut were filed with the New York City Department of Buildings in 2011. They show approval of the existing curb cut, which was previously approved in 1986. The amended drawings were approved by the NYCDOB for Mr. Gottesman’s use as a residential conversion to the building. A Construction Code Determination form was filed in correspondence with the 2011 amended drawings, and was granted permission by the NYCDOB to keep the previously approved curb cut. 

So, to be clear, city records indicate the curb cut was actually approved twice — once in 1986 for a photo studio, then again in 2011, for a single-family residence. The May 31, 2011 approval document clearly stated: “Ok to accept as stated to have one of the rooms at the 1st floor to be used as a personal art studio (not for business) as an accessory use to the one family house and keep the existing curb cut, convenience ramp and the door as approved under a previous reconsideration.”

In addition to the NYCDOB signing off on the alteration, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission also signed off on the application and specifically mentions replacement of a roll up garage door.

All of this suggests that the garage entrance (which leads to stairs that run to a balcony landing) with curb cut is city-approved.

“The curb cut at 777 Washington Street is legal,” Iva Benson, a representative for Gottesman, told me in a statement. “It was approved by the Department of Buildings in 2011.”

This is no doubt why a hearing officer in May — two months before news media picked up the story — dismissed a $500 fine against Gottesman, determining the case presented by the Department of Buildings did “not include any facts to constitute a violation.”

In fact, nobody from the department even bothered to appear. 

Much ado about nothing?

A perusal of news articles suggests the flap over the parking stems from a disgruntled neighbor.

Eyal Levin has feuded with Gottesman over the spot “for at least three years now,” the Daily News reports. Levin was recently towed after parking in Gottesman’s space out of defiance.

“It’s all a scam … He doesn’t have a freaking driveway,” said Levin. “It’s just despicable.”

Coveting the convenience of a personal parking spot is human, as is frustration with being ticketed for illegal parking. Still, public documents suggest Levin’s frustration should be directed at the city officials who approved the curb cut (multiple times), not Gottesman.

The city, for its part, appears to be using a bit of sleight of hand by stating the original plans did not have the curb cut. As officials at the Department of Buildings no doubt know, original plans don’t matter on a job that has been amended 10 times to date. What matters are the most current approved plans.

If the mayor’s office is using the controversy to fan populist resentment, he’s found an ideal target in Gottesman, a billionaire who’s dated Hollywood actresses and no doubt lives a glamorous life. 

Yet city records suggest this anger is misplaced. Don’t blame Gottesman for using a curb cut. Blame the city that approved the space. 

And if the de Blasio administration is using public resources to harass a private citizen who happens to be wealthy for its own political gain, shame on them.

Jonathan Miltimore (@Miltimore79) is managing editor of the Foundation for Economic Education. An alumni of the Institute for Humane Studies journalism program, he formerly was a reporter for the Panama City News Herald, senior editor of the History Channel magazine, and served in the speech writing department of George W. Bush. Andra Constantin is a contributing writer to the Foundation for Economic Education. She fled Communist Romania with her family when she was 6-years-old and currently lives in New York City.


The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of The Daily Caller.