Concrete ‘Lawns’ An Eyesore

When Sicilian-born Sal Guzzardi bought his first house in Bayside in 1974, he immediately paved over the front yard, adding four parking spots to the two-family property. Guzzardi eventually acquired the three neighboring houses, giving him a lot for up to 16 cars in the front of his Francis Lewis Boulevard properties.
“A lot of people rent out apartments and park in the driveway,” he said. “You can’t leave a car on the street here.”
Guzzardi is among a growing number of borough residents to opt for concrete over grass, saying that the price to pave - about $8 to $9 per square foot - outweighs the burden of lawn maintenance.
Although there are no concrete figures of how many borough residents are flattening their front yards, several local politicians and community board leaders say that the trend has become widespread in the northeast and northwest sections of Queens. One city councilman even hopes to create legislation against the practice.
But what Guzzardi calls a magnet for renters, allowing him to charge between $1,200 and $2,000 for apartments, community board leaders describe as a growing problem.
“[Paving-over] destroys communities, creates an eyesore, and it leads to illegal occupancies,” said Jerry Iannece, chair of Community Board No. 11, who said that the community board has received complaints, mainly from residents in Little Neck, about paved-over lawns.
In western Queens, Bob Holden, president of the Juniper Park Civic Association, said that eliminating the “infill” provision of the zoning code would reduce the amount of residents who pave over the front of their yard. The 40-year-old provision allows for builders to create homes 50 percent larger than the area is zoned for, but only forces them to provide 66 percent of the parking needed. Now when landlords are looking for more money, an easy way to make more cash is to create more parking spaces and either increase residents’ monthly rent or rent out the spot.
Along with the Buildings Department, Holden said he has been investigating whether these landlords are breaking the law in some shape or form, either by creating illegal “curb cuts” or illegally subdividing the apartments.
“Nine out of ten times, these apartments are illegally subdivided,” he said.
Without grass, paved-over front yards create an impermeable surface, which in theory could cause extra rain runoff into the sewers and even additional flooding and backups, said Ian Michaels, a spokesman for the New York Department Environmental Protection.
In addition, parking cars - which range in weight from about 2500 to 5000 lbs., puts unanticipated stress on the ground, possibly causing the concrete to crack and create unsuitable and dangerous walkways.