Are my civil rights being violated?

AndrewS

AndrewS

New Member
Jurisdiction
New York
In March of this year during a snow storm I was involved in an accident with my pick up truck. It was towed to the local yard. The following day I went to have it towed to my house since the yard charges $50 per day. The vehicle has a plow attached. It's totalled. However when I get the money, I need to take the plow off and probably put it on my new truck. When I get the money. In the meanwhile its in my driveway, about 25 feet from the local road. I live on a deadend street. No sidewalks of any kind. It is a residential neighborhood. The building department sends me a letter stating I cannot leave my vehicle in my driveway unless it's registered. In NY insuring a vehicle is pricey. The building department has not threatening anything, has not stated what is to happen if I do not get it registered. I imagine fines since all they do is steal your money one way or another. Isn't this method some violation of my civil rights? Since when does the governement tell people what they can or can't leave on their own property? Since when is it a violation to leave a vehicle you own on your own property without the government sticking their nose where it doesn't belong? I'm just curious if the actions by the local government is legal, ethical, or whatever because it doesn't seem like a "free" society if the government in NY is taking 50% of people income and then can have the nerve to tell you that you cannot leave your own vehicle on your own property without repercussions! Any advice you can provide would be helpful because I feel like telling them to piss off.
 

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AndrewS said:
In March of this year during a snow storm I was involved in an accident with my pick up truck. It was towed to the local yard. The following day I went to have it towed to my house since the yard charges $50 per day. The vehicle has a plow attached. It's totalled. However when I get the money, I need to take the plow off and probably put it on my new truck. When I get the money. In the meanwhile its in my driveway, about 25 feet from the local road. I live on a deadend street. No sidewalks of any kind. It is a residential neighborhood. The building department sends me a letter stating I cannot leave my vehicle in my driveway unless it's registered. In NY insuring a vehicle is pricey. The building department has not threatening anything, has not stated what is to happen if I do not get it registered. I imagine fines since all they do is steal your money one way or another. Isn't this method some violation of my civil rights? Since when does the governement tell people what they can or can't leave on their own property? Since when is it a violation to leave a vehicle you own on your own property without the government sticking their nose where it doesn't belong? I'm just curious if the actions by the local government is legal, ethical, or whatever because it doesn't seem like a "free" society if the government in NY is taking 50% of people income and then can have the nerve to tell you that you cannot leave your own vehicle on your own property without repercussions! Any advice you can provide would be helpful because I feel like telling them to piss off.
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It's not just N.Y that has this ordinance...Massachusetts has it as well. My understanding is that cities/states want to prevent "junk yards" from forming in residential neighborhoods.
 
justblue said:
It's not just N.Y that has this ordinance...Massachusetts has it as well. My understanding is that cities/states want to prevent "junk yards" from forming in residential neighborhoods.
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I can respect that. My neighbor has a truck without registration and doesn't operate and he lives directly across the street yet he did not get a letter. If they want to enforce their rules and laws, it should be for everyone. I guess it's just the consequence for living in a socialist ultra liberal democratic state. In the red states this would never happen. They have respect for words like freedom.
 
AndrewS said:
In the red states this would never happen.
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Sure it would. Phoenix and many of the cities and towns in Arizona (a red state) prohibit inoperable and/or unregistered vehicles on private property unless it's behind a fence where it can't be seen from the road.
 
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In some states, if you reside in unincorporated areas of the county, no one will be cited for imitating Fred Sanford's Empire.

How in the heck do I know?

I have cousins residing in the deepest recesses of Appalachia, the Louisiana swamps, New Mexico desert, and West Texas who have created their own beautiful Fred Sanford Empires, all without a peep from any gubmint bureaucrat.
 
adjusterjack said:
I bet they shoot revenooers, too.

;)
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If they do, their home will change to nice secure federal facility with bars where the government will dictate every part of their life — when they eat, when sleep, what they wear, even when they go to they go to the bathroom. So if they are as opposed to government regulation and taxation as our friend army judge seems to be, this would not be their wisest course of action as they'll get more regulation than they could ever imagine. :D
 
Tax Counsel said:
If they do, their home will change to nice secure federal facility with bars where the government will dictate every part of their life
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One 1st cousin did a 40 year bit (day for day) in federal prison for selling weed.
That's the only one that ever did time.
The ones in Appalachia live in a place known as "the holler", where even "federales" have YET to venture.
They EXIST without electricity, running water, and still use outdoor latrines.
 
PayrollHRGuy said:
Well at least you are protesting the flag that was painted on the roof.
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I think you left out a word there: I am not protesting the Confederate flag painted on the roof and said nothing to indicate my views on the matter either way. My own view on the display of the Confederate flag by private persons and entities is that they have every right to do that under the First Amendment protection of free speech, even though I disagree with what that flag represents. In that regard, the Confederate flag on the General Lee car isn't something I'd protest. I just thought the show was stupid at the time it originally aired (1979 - 1985). I watched an episode or two back then and ditched it as it was not entertaining to me. And the show certainly hasn't held up all that well with the passage of time, but then that can be said about a lot of shows that aired in the late seventies and early 80s.
 
AndrewS said:
In the red states this would never happen.
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It's not a red state vs. blue state issue. I live in a very red state, and it has happened to me. The vehicle was parked on my property and we had forgotten to renew the registration. A guy who drove through the neighborhood frequently worked for the city and reported it as a "junk vehicle". (It didn't look like much, but it was still usable and we ended up selling it after my husband did some minor repairs.) I didn't even know they had ticketed me, I never saw an actual ticket, until I got a letter saying I had a delinquent ticket and to pay up or else.

I don't even drive and have never had any kind of ticket for anything but they treated me like some kind of criminal when I went to pay the ticket. So there wasn't a lot of respect for "freedom" in that case, they didn't care one bit about my freedom to have a vehicle on my own property or even how they treated me, as long as they got their money.
 
cynthiag said:
I don't even drive and have never had any kind of ticket for anything but they treated me like some kind of criminal when I went to pay the ticket. So there wasn't a lot of respect for "freedom" in that case, they didn't care one bit about my freedom to have a vehicle on my own property or even how they treated me, as long as they got their money.
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I am sure that your perception is a bit skewed. You got treated like everyone else.
 
Oh, no, my perception isn't skewed, I absolutely know I was treated like everyone else, I've seen others in similar situations who were treated the same way and worse by our local and/or state government entities.

My point was, it doesn't matter if you live in a "red" or a "blue" state, you're going to be treated the same way, so OP's comment that it wouldn't have happened if he lived in a red state because they had respect for freedom was in no way accurate to what actually happens when you live in a red state.
 
cynthiag said:
Oh, no, my perception isn't skewed, I absolutely know I was treated like everyone else, I've seen others in similar situations who were treated the same way and worse by our local and/or state government entities.

My point was, it doesn't matter if you live in a "red" or a "blue" state, you're going to be treated the same way, so OP's comment that it wouldn't have happened if he lived in a red state because they had respect for freedom was in no way accurate to what actually happens when you live in a red state.
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I pointed that out to OP in my posting. I'm originally from Massachusetts, the Bluest blue State there is. :)
 

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