Parking in New York is a nightmare, so one billionaire took desperate measures to get his very own ‘permanent’ spot.
Noah Gottesman, a very wealthy hedge fund honcho, created the illusion of a driveway on his property where none exists. He now hands out parking violations to anyone who tries to park in front of it.
Noah lives in the West Village in Manhattan, in a corner compound on Jane and Washington Streets that he built himself over 10 years ago.
During a renovation, he illegally added a curb cut to the sidewalk outside his home to make it appear as if there’s a driveway at 777 Washington St.
https://twitter.com/gabrielroth/status/1148653357181149184
He also added “No Parking” and “Active Driveway” signs to the large black door at the entrance to his complex.
Neighbors who have tried to use the spot have received parking tickets and even had their vehicles towed by Noah’s employees.
Obviously, Noah is not well-liked in the neighborhood.
“It’s all a scam. He doesn’t have a freaking driveway,” neighbor Eyal Levin told the NY Daily News. “He just has fake signs on it. He knows it, everybody knows it and still they try to intimidate everybody about it. I found it to be outrageous.”
Noah received a violation over the illegal curb cut earlier this year, and the Department of Buildings has stepped in to investigate the issue.
“This is a shameful abuse of public space that we won’t tolerate,” Mayor de Blasio spokeswoman Marcy Miranda told NY Daily news.
“The building owner needs to play by the same rules as everyone else, no matter how deep his pockets are, which is why we’ve instructed the Buildings Department to investigate further and take whatever enforcement actions are needed.”
