You can visually see them yourself if you’re walking down the street - you see electric poles in peoples yards.” Nataly Goldstein “There are a lot of out there, especially in the suburbs. She said utility easements should be revealed in the title search process, but it’s generally safe to assume utilities have easements if there are power poles sitting on or adjacent to the property. Nataly Goldstein, a real estate attorney at Pardalis & Nohavicka, said property owners rarely win court battles over utility easements because the agreements “run with the land.” That is to say they remain in effect regardless of who owns the property or how the use of the land may change over the years. “It was very upsetting to hear that an easement that was over 80 years old could be put into effect in a neighborhood that didn’t even exist when it was written.” Neighbor Even though that easement was signed in 1930 -when the property was a farm - it is still in full effect. The legal document, signed between NYSEG and a former owner of the property, allows the utility broad use of the yard in order to "construct, reconstruct, extend, operate, inspect, maintain” a utility pole and the necessary wires to hold it up. How could a private utility company commandeer part of someone's front yard without so much as a court hearing? It boils down to a decades-old agreement, called an easement. “Why, right in front of my front door, do I need something as offensive as that?” Neighbor To prevent people from tripping, the wire would also have a bright yellow covering - not exactly matching the rustic tranquility of this wooded Pound Ridge lot. The wire would be anchored 12 feet deep onto her property - directly in the line of sight of her front door. A letter from NYSEG, the electric utility serving northern Westchester County, informed her that the company would be claiming a small part of her front yard for the installation of a metal wire to stabilize a new, taller utility pole. One neighbor couldn't believe it when she opened her mail in April. You can visually see them yourself if you’re walking down the street - you see electric poles in peoples yards.” Nataly Goldstein Read The Full Articleĭisclaimer: Names have been changed for privacy purposes. They interviewed PN Real Estate Attorney, Nataly Goldstein for expert legal insight into utility easements. When an electric utility company informed a Westchester County resident that they were claiming part of her front yard to install a utility pole, NBC New York decided to investigate. Power Play - How Utilities Can Lay Claim to Private Front Lawns
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