Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Zoning Dispute topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Owners of 19 Primrose Road tell Greenburgh board neighbors harassed them amid driveway, zoning dispute
Summary
Jay and Gina Cotto told the Greenburgh Town Board they have endured repeated complaints from nearby residents and harassment tied to a driveway and zoning dispute after buying a long‑vacant house; the building department said it will review records and issue violation notices where neighbors made unpermitted changes.
Jay and Gina Cotto, who identified themselves as the owners of 19 Primrose Road, told the Greenburgh Town Board on Jan. 21 that they have faced a year of complaints and what they described as harassment from two neighboring households while trying to repair and restore a long‑vacant, fire‑damaged home.
"We purchased the house April 25, 2024. It's gonna be a year," Gina Cotto said in a detailed presentation of police reports, building‑department forms and neighborhood photos the couple said they had submitted to town staff and the zoning board. The Cotts said contractors were harassed on site, that a person claiming to be a county inspector entered the property without identifying themselves and that several neighbors filed complaints soon after the couple began repairs.
The Cotts told the board that their driveway and garage predate the town's current stormwater rules and that they believed the driveway should have been treated the same way the building department treated a garage constructed in 1962. "We were really excited about purchasing this home and fixing it up," they said. "But now it's gotten to another level. We've done police reports. We've done a housing discrimination complaint. There's nobody helping us."
A building department official who reviewed the town's records told the board that the house was constructed in the 1950s and that while a two‑car garage was added in 1962 the department’s historical files did not show a record of a driveway in the original plans. The official said aerial photography showed a driveway in the 1970s and that, after more recent research, staff found several neighboring properties with unpermitted driveway or setback alterations.
"I'm going to have to issue violation notices to any neighbors that have expanded or altered their driveways without the benefit of permits," the building department official said, noting that department staff are working property‑by‑property on Primrose Road to verify records.
Board members urged the Cotts to assemble a single, comprehensive packet for the zoning board and offered to convene an informal meeting with department heads — planning, building, the town attorney and, if the Cotts wish, the neighbors — to explore possible compromises or next steps. Several board members warned that the town board cannot direct an independent zoning board on a decision but said staff could help fact‑find and clarify what the town can or cannot do.
The Cotts said they had already supplied police reports, human‑rights correspondence and neighborhood photos and would resend a digital drive to the town; the board agreed staff would follow up and that the building department would complete its review of nearby properties' permits and issue notices where warranted.
The board did not take any formal enforcement action at the work session; instead, it asked staff to review the submitted materials, to confirm the building records and to report back with recommendations for any administrative steps the town can take or for ways to facilitate a meeting among parties.
The town official who spoke for the building department apologized that the Cotts felt unwelcome and said the department would pursue records and potential enforcement where evidence of unpermitted work exists. The owners said they will press the zoning board and provide any additional documentation requested by town staff.
