City May Sue Developer for Cleaning 40 Tons of Trash...

I hate to be the jerk here, but I do agree with the govt to some degree.

I have no issues with him removing any and all trash and mowing the grass.

However, he does not have the right to install anything or alter the landscape in any way.

He should have just made it a well maintained empty lot.

JMO.

Originally Posted by GlockMan

I hate to be the jerk here, but I do agree with the govt to some degree.

I have no issues with him removing any and all trash and mowing the grass.

However, he does not have the right to install anything or alter the landscape in any way.

He should have just made it a well maintained empty lot.

JMO.

Install is a strong word. Seems like he just put a few benches and a table. Seems easily removable.

Originally Posted by GlockMan

I hate to be the jerk here, but I do agree with the govt to some degree.

I have no issues with him removing any and all trash and mowing the grass.

However, he does not have the right to install anything or alter the landscape in any way.

He should have just made it a well maintained empty lot.

JMO.

This to a small extent. I can understand why the city would not want people altering the property. A park is hard to argue with or take offense at, but it's not a huge leap for someone to figure on doing the same as a venue for artwork exhibition or an F shack for Dirty Mike and the Boys.

Originally Posted by klubeck

JonJon probably complained

That's fvcked up though...guy did the city a great service and then for them to come back around and sue him. This reminds of an episode of Hey Arnold.

Edit: Yup, there was one http://heyarnold.wikia.com/wiki/The_Vacant_Lot

jesus dude! you just threw me back with that "Hey Arnold" reference, I loved that show as a kid and if I could watch it now I would.

Originally Posted by iverson2k10

jesus dude! you just threw me back with that "Hey Arnold" reference, I loved that show as a kid and if I could watch it now I would.

Ever hear of this wacky new thing called the internet?

Originally Posted by NFRs2000nyc

Install is a strong word. Seems like he just put a few benches and a table. Seems easily removable.

"But the Daily News reports that Feibush went ahead with his plans anyway, reportedly spending more than $20,000 of his own money not only to remove the trash but also to level the soil; add cherry trees, fencing and park benches; and repave the sidewalk."

Government gets nothing done. I am all for more people standing up and doing the right thing. Taking back their community. Government only caters to the least common denomenator and fails to make progressive inroads. Can't even think of an example where government actually paved the way for progress. The private sector ALWAYs comes through with progress while the government is like a stingy barnacle leaching to the forward movement slowing it down or even prohibiting it.

I might even go so far as to say that if big governement disappeared today the will of the people would prevale and still keep society in check.

Originally Posted by Mark M

Government gets nothing done. I am all for more people standing up and doing the right thing. Taking back their community. Government only caters to the least common denomenator and fails to make progressive inroads. Can't even think of an example where government actually paved the way for progress. The private sector ALWAYs comes through with progress while the government is like a stingy barnacle leaching to the forward movement slowing it down or even prohibiting it.

I might even go so far as to say that if big governement disappeared today the will of the people would prevale and still keep society in check.

If you're of European descent living in the Americas, you can thank government progress for that.

Originally Posted by GlockMan

"But the Daily News reports that Feibush went ahead with his plans anyway, reportedly spending more than $20,000 of his own money not only to remove the trash but also to level the soil; add cherry trees, fencing and park benches; and repave the sidewalk."

this is an outrage....cherry trees? i liked the overgrown grass and abandoned cars much better.

city never gives a fvck about these dumps until a developer wants to buy them or they can make money on it a different way. this guy deserves a medal in my opinion. it's not like he took over the spot and is making money of the park right (i didn't read the article thoroughly , he's not making money off the park right?)

Originally Posted by iverson2k10

jesus dude! you just threw me back with that "Hey Arnold" reference, I loved that show as a kid and if I could watch it now I would.

I can't tell you why it popped into my head first thing when reading this lol, nostalgia took over after that. Youtube has episodes and just saw Netflix has 5 seasons streaming as well -- guess I know what I'm watching on Sunday!

Originally Posted by klubeck

JonJon probably complained

Actually... I know the developer...

Originally Posted by NFRs2000nyc

His cafe was suffering because of the trash. He reached out to the city for help, who refused. I think the guy is a hero, and the city should make the owner of the garbage property pay the cost, and if its city property, they should pay him.

I know why he did it....I think the guy did a great thing. He is helping his business and he is helping the community. However, like I said, it is not his property to mess with. Period.

Just like I can't alter my neighbors yard or house in some way because I think it will be better for my property value and be better for the neighborhood.

Originally Posted by cd330

I know why he did it....I think the guy did a great thing. He is helping his business and he is helping the community. However, like I said, it is not his property to mess with. Period.

Just like I can't alter my neighbors yard or house in some way because I think it will be better for my property value and be better for the neighborhood.

This.

I have yet to see any pictures of it really looking that bad, ooh, some green grass and jersey barriers. That most recent one could have been him re-leveling the lot.
It's not his land to make decisions with. If anything, the city is suing for a precedent so people don't randomly go "upgrading" public land. Just because this one turned out looking half decent doesn't mean it couldn't have come out looking like ****. lol

Originally Posted by deafboy

This.

I have yet to see any pictures of it really looking that bad, ooh, some green grass and jersey barriers. That most recent one could have been him re-leveling the lot.

Yeah, doesn't look that bad from the pics. They said he moved about 40 tons of "debris" ... there looks to be about 6 20' jersey barriers in the pics... so at 8000 lbs a piece, that is 24 tons of concrete right there, add to that the old sidewalk he replaced.

When the story first surfaced, they made it sound like someone dropped a ton of twisted steel and wreckage on a lot .....

I count 6 of those concrete barriers. Those alone could account for a good bit of the alleged 40 tons. Assuming the city govt owned them, I can understand them being a bit irked if he had them dragged out to a landfill somewhere.

If in fact they were there and he had them hauled away, he'd be lucky to only be facing a lawsuit. I could see the city potentially bringing criminal charges against him and I cant say I'd disagree with that.

EDIT: somewhat redundant to above post.

Originally Posted by cd330

Yeah, doesn't look that bad from the pics. They said he moved about 40 tons of "debris" ... there looks to be about 6 20' jersey barriers in the pics... so at 8000 lbs a piece, that is 24 tons of concrete right there, add to that the old sidewalk he replaced.

When the story first surfaced, they made it sound like someone dropped a tone of twisted steel and wreckage on a lot .....

I don't see pics of the trash, but I also don't know if they were simply not taken. There are tons of these lots in the PA/NJ/NY area. They might look like the overgrown grass at first, but are quickly used to dump. They can fill up with 40 tons of trash in a matter of weeks. I have seen contractors dump truckloads in lots like that. People throwing their garbage not taken by city sanitation, this is VERY common around the NY/NJ/PA area. When I lived in Queens a few years back, my neighbor was doing a minor remodel, and ordered a dumpster (the large metal one, so a 9 yard maybe?) They delivered it at about 5:00PM. The next morning, we woke up, it was half full with trash. An old couch, old chipped up concrete, drywall scrap, etc. Those google images mean nothing.

I am guessing the main problem is that the guy is using it as if it is his property now- the slideshow on yahoo shows a three sided fence with the only open side to his business and a table of people drinking coffee.

"officials say Feibush shouldn't have done work on a lot he doesn't own or rent, shouldn't be using taxpayer-owned property to benefit his business"

That being said I have had to deal with the city (of St. Paul) many times and it is painful to say the least. The house next to my rental was vacant for about 3 year and after a while I just started mowing the grass and picking up trash myself even though it was technically supposed to be taken care of by the city because it made my house look like ****.

I definitely understand where the city is coming from maintaining that no one should be able to modify their property, but in this particular case, especially since they ignored his requests to clean the place up, I think they should drop the lawsuit plans. Since he has money, he can easily launch a negative campaign against the city officials and ruin their chances for re-election.