What to Know
- A hedge fund billionaire has gotten on his West Village neighbors’ nerves after they say he created a fake parking spot for himself
- Noam Gottesman designated the area right in front of the front door of his massive home at 777 Washington Street as an active driveway
- There is no garage at Gottesman’s pad — but that didn’t stop him from putting a no parking sign on the side of the building
A hedge fund billionaire has gotten on his West Village neighbors’ nerves after they say he created a fake parking spot for himself with a personal driveway.
Noam Gottesman designated the area right in front of the front door of his massive home at 777 Washington Street as an active driveway, effectively making it illegal for others to park there. Active driveways are reserved for residences with garages, so the tenants can get their cars out without being boxed in.
However, there is no garage at Gottesman’s pad — but that didn’t stop him from putting in a sloped curb out front, preventing all others from parking there.
One neighbor says Gottesman has created an illegal personal parking spot for himself just feet from his front door, taking away parking that belongs to the public.
“There’s no driveway here right? So I’m allowed to park here,” says Eyal Levin. “There’s a legal sign that says I’m allowed to park except for the cleaning times.”
A no parking sign was placed on the side of the building, but it was not issued by the city’s Department of Transportation. Levin parked in the spot months ago, and says he was threatened by a person who came out from the home who said he would get towed — which did end up happening.
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In addition to his car getting taken off, Levin was issued a ticket. It was later dismissed, but Levin says it never should have happened.
The Department of Building said the cut out slope on the curb does not appear to be legal. Archival photos show the building did have a legal cutout when it was an industrial building with an active garage — but now that the building is now a residence, the former permit is no longer valid.
The DOB also said that Gottesman’s extensive renovation plans filed with the city “do not show any curb cuts and the owner did not apply for an accessory-use curb cut during this process, as required.”
Knocks on Gottesman’s front door for comment went unanswered. A rep for Gottesman said the DOB issued them a permit in 2011, but the department disputes those claims. A buildings inspector will be examine the property, and if they deem the modification to be illegal, Gottesman may be subject to fines.
