well they did pour cement and all that stuff for teh posts, but I'm sure
they havn't any permits. They've been making major structural changes to
their house for the last year and a half--all without permits, or if they
did have them, they didn't post them in the window which I believe they're
supposed to. This whole fence/patio thing is really the end of what is
essentially a complete butchering of the integrity of the home and
particularly the patch of garden(s) in the back which are shared by the 4
adjacent houses (property lines notwithstanding)--they are closing off their
quadrant, completely destroying it for everyone else, and our tree in the
process. I wish we had stronger community boards here in the city, like you
folks in the suburbs have.




"Chris" wrote in message
...
Most cities require a building permit to do any type of contruction
including a fence check into it. The reason is safety a privacy fence in
my
part of the woods has to meet the 100mph wind requirment just like a
house.
The posts are set on top of a cement column 4 feet deep 16 inches in
diameter. An alternative is to bury the post and put cement around it but
that will rot off do to cement holding moisture around the post
constantly.

"TheKeith" wrote in message
news
yeah the property line is pretty clear where we are. I never heard of
any
rules about how far away from the property line a fence has to be, but
I'll
look into it.



"Chris" wrote in message
...
Can your neighbor leagally build a fence on the property line? Where I
live
the fence has to be 2 feet from the property line unless the neighbor
gives
permission to build on the line. It may be worth while to look into
rite
ways and where the property line is exactly.

"TheKeith" wrote in message
...
I live in Brooklyn, NY and in the backyard is a 30-yr old maple tree
that
my
parents planted before I was even born. The tree was planted about 2
feet
away from the fence and now, 30 yrs later, is a bit of a
monster--part
of
the trunk is on my neighbors side. They are currently putting up a
big
fence
and have already managed to convince my parents to let them cut a
chunk
away
from the very bottom of the trunk (my parents consulted a tree
surgeon
first
of course, and he said it was ok)--now the neighbors are saying that
they
need to cut what appears to be a major root (almost looks like part
of
the
trunk itself)--the tree surgeon is coming over again tomorrow, but
I'm
fairly certain that this is a vital component to the survival of the
tree.
My grandfather was a real estate attorney and some years before he
died
looked up some law regarding trees and discovered something called
"air
rights" or something like that, which basically provided that the
branches
of a tree, as long as it doesn't physically touch a neighbors
property
may
not be cut by that neighbor even if it is "over" their property. I
was
wondering if there are any comparable laws regarding the tree trunk
itself
and its major roots, which obviously run well under my neighbors
property?
Help would be greatly appreciated -- thanks.

Keith
kegepet
at
nyc dot
rr dot
com