Andreas Gruson applied for a nine foot, two inch curb cut on the sidewalk in front of his 94th Street home for use as his private driveway. (DNAinfo/Gabriela Resto-Montero)By Gabriela Resto-Montero
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER EAST SIDE — A Carnegie Hill man's plans for a private driveway were kicked to the curb Wednesday when Community Board 8 voted to reject his application for a curb cut that would have limited on-street parking.
Homeowner Andreas Gruson built a garage on the street level of his brownstone at 161 E. 94th Street after successfully suing the city to exempt his home from an existing law banning curb cuts.
Although the 30-1 vote rejecting his appeal carries no legal weight, Gruson's garage may cost him relationships with neighbors resentful of the way in which he built the addition.
"It's disturbing that someone moves in and builds something with the idea that that will make it harder to ban," said Kate White, a neighbor.
Gruson, who was accompanied to the CB8 meeting Wednesday night by his lawyer, architect and environmental impact engineer, said the garage and driveway were necessary to provide access for his elderly father-in-law.
"You might have a relative with mobility problems like we do," Gruson said. "Allow someone the dignity and privacy to go in."
The dozens of neighbors gathered at the meeting raucously rejected Gruson's argument that the needs of one family outweighed the interests of the entire block.
"I have a 93-year-old mother," said Margaret Evans, who lives a few doors down from Gruson. "She's frail, this does not entitle me to a parking spot or a curb cut."
The curb cut application will now move to public hearings, according to Community Board 8 Chairwoman Jacqueline Ludorf.
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