Neighbor put up outdoor Cameras to film me - filming my children!

[LordX]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York

Hey all - last year I re-did my driveway (expanded it). Looks great - however, my neighbor didn't like that it comes closer to his property - and hasn't spoken to me since - even though I have genuinely tried to see what the issue was (in a polite and nice way).

He called the city on me for the driveway (which got him nowhere since I got the appropriate permit). Then he called about my pool closing (saying water got on his lawn) - again got nowhere since I had a company do the closing. Then he called for some metal that I stored next to my garage - again nowhere since metal alone is not an environmental hazard.

He then installed CAMERAS on the side of his house which point at my driveway (where I walk with my kids and put them in and out of my car) and my backyard.

This guy's bedroom window faces my backyard - and the other day he stood in his window and stared at my wife and kids while they were in the backyard playing for over 30 MINUTES. Just standing there. My wife got me, and I took a picture.

This guy is a nutcase. A crabby old man - who is obviously furious that he didn't get his way with the driveway - and now is on a mission to find something to complain about.

The harassment and abuse of me and the town's code officer with all of his calling is one thing, but filming my family and children is OUTRAGEOUS - and I am tired of this!

I got nowhere with the code guys in Clay, NY (Onondaga County) since they say they have no code for outdoor filming.

So now I feel helpless, and I hope that someone here can give me some advice!

If anyone knows of ANY law he may be violating - I would love to know.

I know there is always civil court - where I can sue him for harassment, but I would almost certainly lose that since the old man can simply say he had 'legitimate concerns' - unless the cameras give me an angle that I can't see?

Sorry for the long post - thanks again for any help!

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York

Hey all - last year I re-did my driveway (expanded it). Looks great - however, my neighbor didn't like that it comes closer to his property - and hasn't spoken to me since - even though I have genuinely tried to see what the issue was (in a polite and nice way).

He called the city on me for the driveway (which got him nowhere since I got the appropriate permit). Then he called about my pool closing (saying water got on his lawn) - again got nowhere since I had a company do the closing. Then he called for some metal that I stored next to my garage - again nowhere since metal alone is not an environmental hazard.

He then installed CAMERAS on the side of his house which point at my driveway (where I walk with my kids and put them in and out of my car) and my backyard.

This guy's bedroom window faces my backyard - and the other day he stood in his window and stared at my wife and kids while they were in the backyard playing for over 30 MINUTES. Just standing there. My wife got me, and I took a picture.

This guy is a nutcase. A crabby old man - who is obviously furious that he didn't get his way with the driveway - and now is on a mission to find something to complain about.

The harassment and abuse of me and the town's code officer with all of his calling is one thing, but filming my family and children is OUTRAGEOUS - and I am tired of this!

I got nowhere with the code guys in Clay, NY (Onondaga County) since they say they have no code for outdoor filming.

So now I feel helpless, and I hope that someone here can give me some advice!

If anyone knows of ANY law he may be violating - I would love to know.

I know there is always civil court - where I can sue him for harassment, but I would almost certainly lose that since the old man can simply say he had 'legitimate concerns' - unless the cameras give me an angle that I can't see?

Sorry for the long post - thanks again for any help!

As long as the surveillance cameras do not intrude on your INDOOR privacy, the neighbor is allowed to film what he sees OUTSIDE, and that includes filming your yard and your driveway. You (generally) have no expectation of privacy outside your house. Sorry.

YOU, on the other hand, violated your NEIGHBOR'S privacy by taking a photo of him in his bedroom. With luck, he didn't notice. Without luck, he DID notice - and you might find that he will file another complaint against you - this time, a complaint with some legitimate legal backing.




(sorry for all of the capitalized words - I usually use italics for emphasis but for some strange reason this feature is not working for me on this forum tonight)

 

[LordX]

Does a fence around the backyard not give an expectation of privacy?

Also - even if he did see me take the picture - the picture was of my tool shed - which happened to have his house in the background.

 

[quincy]

Does a fence around the backyard not give an expectation of privacy?

Also - even if he did see me take the picture - the picture was of my tool shed - which happened to have his house in the background.

A fence can prevent trespassers and a fence can provide you with a modicum of privacy in your backyard. But surveillance cameras that neighboring houses might have only need to avoid focusing on the inside areas of the houses around them, because it is the inside of the house where one has not only an expectation of privacy but the right to privacy.

At least your neighbor apparently hasn't invested in a drone to circle your backyard (yet).

So the picture you took of the man standing in his bedroom window was actually a picture of the tool shed? Or is that just your story and you're sticking to it?

 

[LordX]

Hah - funny you mention the drone - I saw a drone camera for sale the other day and thought it would be hilarious to get it and buzz it all around above them while they are outside.

Oh well - looks like I don't have a legal leg to stand on here in terms of my nutcase neighbor.

I have another question about property lines and his fence - but I will post a new thread for that one.

 

[Just Blue]

A fence can prevent trespassers and a fence can provide you with a modicum of privacy in your backyard. But surveillance cameras that neighboring houses might have only need to avoid focusing on the inside areas of the houses around them, because it is the inside of the house where one has not only an expectation of privacy but the right to privacy.

At least your neighbor apparently hasn't invested in a drone to circle your backyard (yet).

So the picture you took of the man standing in his bedroom window was actually a picture of the tool shed? Or is that just your story and you're sticking to it?

His story and he is sticking to it...

 

[Just Blue]

Hah - funny you mention the drone - I saw a drone camera for sale the other day and thought it would be hilarious to get it and buzz it all around above them while they are outside.

Oh well - looks like I don't have a legal leg to stand on here in terms of my nutcase neighbor.

I have another question about property lines and his fence - but I will post a new thread for that one.

Please don't start a thread for every question regarding this issue. Thanks
Blue

 

[quincy]

Hah - funny you mention the drone - I saw a drone camera for sale the other day and thought it would be hilarious to get it and buzz it all around above them while they are outside. ...

Interestingly, Syracuse is one of a handful of cities in the US that has passed an anti-drone resolution, designed to preserve and protect the privacy rights of its residents from City agency or City agent owned drones.

Although you are not a City agency or a City agent (as far as I know), and I don't know if the resolution stretches to your Syracuse suburb of Clay, I am still thinking that the purchase of a drone to buzz your neighbor might not be the smartest one for you to make (as tempting as such a purchase might be).

That said, if your NEIGHBOR buys a drone to buzz YOUR backyard, you can always point to the Syracuse resolution for some support in showing your neighbor has invaded your privacy.

Knowing you are "under surveillance" by a nutcase neighbor is an uncomfortable feeling, I'm sure, but all of us are being recorded pretty much wherever we go. It is the new reality, I'm afraid.

Good luck.

 

[LordX]

Sorry Blue!

So because of my neighbors foul mood about my driveway extension - I am getting that part of the property staked through the original survey company that has done all the surveys all the way back to 1985 when the property was made.

I have a sneaking suspicion that part of his fence is over the line (I did some measurements based on the original survey from when I bought the house in 2007).

So the question is: If I find out through the survey company that his fence is on my side - what are my options?

 

[quincy]

Sorry Blue!

So because of my neighbors foul mood about my driveway extension - I am getting that part of the property staked through the original survey company that has done all the surveys all the way back to 1985 when the property was made.

I have a sneaking suspicion that part of his fence is over the line (I did some measurements based on the original survey from when I bought the house in 2007).

So the question is: If I find out through the survey company that his fence is on my side - what are my options?

Your options? You can keep the fence where it is (if the location of the fence is not intruding on your property to any great extent), or you can provide the neighbor with a copy of the survey and suggest he move his fence to his own property so its location does not cause a potential problem in the future if you decide to sell the house (although you apparently didn't consider it a problem when you purchased the house in 2007).

I would not necessarily make this an issue only because you dislike your neighbor, but what you decide to do, if your suspicions that the fence is over the property line prove correct, is ultimately up to you.

 

[LordX]

You know - it wasn't just the filming or staring out of the window.

It is the fact that the guy has continued to call the city and other organizations about things - and they never lead anywhere. I have never had to change anything I have done from any of the phone calls that he has made.

But he is using/abusing the system to harass me. Is there nothing that can be done about that?

 

[Zigner]

Wait him out - maybe he'll kick the bucket before you.

 

[FlyingRon]

That's between the city and him. Believe me I sympathize. I had a jerk neighbor once like that as well. Rather than expressing whatever petty concern he had, he called the zoning department, the HOA, yada, yada, yada on me. I came home to find the cops there one time (investigated and left) and another time a guy from the zoning department measuring my shed with a tape measure (legal).
The HOA pointed out that the shed was compliant with their rules and we had gotten architectural review board approval for it as well.

Eventually he went away. There's just not anything you really can do about it. Nothing he has done is illegal.

 

[LordX]

Zigner - unless I get into an accident - I will def be able to wait him out from that perspective... the guys gotta be 70+

 

[Zigner]

Zigner - unless I get into an accident - I will def be able to wait him out from that perspective... the guys gotta be 70+

There ya go...