I guess I'm a drug dealer now?!

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Idk what you all do in Cali, but if this sh*t was happening in NY, we would slap that b*tch and make him hold your pocket while you brew. Also, make sure you take his shoes, thats gangster.

(but +1 to brewing in a ski mask and a trench coat... Or a lab coat with goggles, make sure you freak your hair out)
 
When I first got out of the Army I shared an apartment with my friend that had a "sort of" balcony off the second floor where we lived. Basically, picture the ground floor being longer than the top floor, so we could step out of our bedroom windows onto their roof. The bottom tenants had no issues at all with us using it as a balcony during the summer.

The neighbor across the street who was a grumpy old Korean War veteran had a serious problem with it, and would call the cops on us any time he saw us out there. One time a cop actually tried to say we couldn't drink on the "balcony" because it was in public view (no drinking in public in NYC at all).

Long story short, he blocked the parking spots in front of his house whenever he wasn't home. So one day, we parked a friend of our's car there who asked us to watch it while he was on vacation for two weeks. At first, old man tried to bully us into moving it. Called me a punk kid. I informed him that I too was a veteran and a police officer and that he had no legal right to block the spots in front of his house. He decided to take the extremely childish route of keying my friend's car one night. So in the end, old man almost got arrested (my friend just couldn't bring himself to press charges) and had to pay to fix the scratches. Veteran or not, the guy was a flat out a-hole. I wonder if he's still alive.
 
I usually brew in my driveway and wave at the cops as they drive by.
Two neighboring towns have monthly meth lab busts so I rather not raise suspicious.
BTW I live between a little league baseball park and an elementary school.
 
So when I drink on my balcony I'm breaking the law?! Yikes, I'm a regular John Gotti if thats the case. Did not know that. This thread is really making me appreciate my neighbors, even if they do throw their pants out the window or have loud monkey sex in the middle of a Thursday afternoon.

Here's the thing, if I'm upset enough to call the cops (happened only once in my life) I'm upset enough to press charges. I suppose a handwritten apology in English or Spanish could get me to drop them, but thats it. I am a strong believer in karma, and I think letting someone off the hook for a'hole behavior (not accidents or mistakes, but willfull dickery) makes it cosmically that much easier for the next guy to do the same thing. Of course, I feel the same way about marital fidelity and I've been told I'm a grumpy jerk, so there is that.
 
No, you can drink on your balcony (unless your landlord forbids it I suppose, but that still wouldn't be criminal). Public view and in public are two separate things. your balcony is not a public place.
 
Airborneguy said:
Long story short, he blocked the parking spots in front of his house whenever he wasn't home. So one day, we parked a friend of our's car there who asked us to watch it while he was on vacation for two weeks. At first, old man tried to bully us into moving it. Called me a punk kid. I informed him that I too was a veteran and a police officer and that he had no legal right to block the spots in front of his house. He decided to take the extremely childish route of keying my friend's car one night. So in the end, old man almost got arrested (my friend just couldn't bring himself to press charges) and had to pay to fix the scratches. Veteran or not, the guy was a flat out a-hole. I wonder if he's still alive.
Click to expand...

I would have drilled an 1/8" hole in his gas tank of his car. He'll be wondering why his fuel mileage sucks for weeks.

once he gets it fixed. Repeat. :fro:

I'll be a punk adult if you piss me off. :mug:
 
My neighbors house is up for sale. I was brewing with a few buddies last weekend, and a stranger came walking up the driveway. He said he was looking at the house, and wanted to meet the neighbors before making a decision. He was also curious about what we were doing. I told him we were brewing beer, and then he said that he's going to make an offer on the house. His wife came up the driveway soon after, and he said to her that they're gonna have some cool neighbors.
 
The world is full of busybodies. I worked for several years in law enforcement and I cannot tell you how many people would call 911 because the neightbor's kids were playing outside. Not trespassing or hurting anyone or anyone's property, just playing. It always made me really mad. These folks sound like they're the same way. Just neighborhood busybodies. No matter what you do, they'll never learn.
 
Airborneguy said:
No, you can drink on your balcony (unless your landlord forbids it I suppose, but that still wouldn't be criminal). Public view and in public are two separate things. your balcony is not a public place.
Click to expand...

I don't know how the NY law is worded, but I had a LEO on a Mustang forum once tell me that in Georgia, the local code states that you can't even drink beer from your porch because it's in public view. They have to put a coozie on their beers...
 
homebeerbrewer said:
My neighbors house is up for sale. I was brewing with a few buddies last weekend, and a stranger came walking up the driveway. He said he was looking at the house, and wanted to meet the neighbors before making a decision. He was also curious about what we were doing. I told him we were brewing beer, and then he said that he's going to make an offer on the house. His wife came up the driveway soon after, and he said to her that they're gonna have some cool neighbors.
Click to expand...


Wish that guy the best of luck!
 
Homercidal said:
I don't know how the NY law is worded, but I had a LEO on a Mustang forum once tell me that in Georgia, the local code states that you can't even drink beer from your porch because it's in public view. They have to put a coozie on their beers...
Click to expand...

Public view on private property is fine here, you just can't be in an actual public place. Take for example the Coney Island boardwalk. You can't jsut walk around with a beer in your hand, but if you're eating at a table in front of one of the restaurants, which have velvet rope-style setups to legally denote their "private" seating areas, you can drink at the table even though everyone on the boardwalk can see you.
 
Weirdest thing ever was the Portuguese festival in Newark I went to a few years ago. Feels odd walking down the street with an alco-slurpee and wishing a police officer a good afternoon.

Equally weird was walking with an open container in NOLA.

Come to think of it, the only leanient local law I havent taken advantage of just to see what it would feel like is I didnt let myself linger in the red light district- Amsterdam
 
You should organize a group buy for hops and DME and then split it all up into smaller bags while brewing in the backyard. Then 20 people can randomly stop by your house over the next week or two. That should crank up the paranoia.

Or organize a club brew day in your backyard and just overwhelm them with cooking wort.

Edit: There's the off chance it would get them to move
 
CreamyGoodness said:
Weirdest thing ever was the Portuguese festival in Newark I went to a few years ago. Feels odd walking down the street with an alco-slurpee and wishing a police officer a good afternoon.

Equally weird was walking with an open container in NOLA.

Come to think of it, the only leanient local law I havent taken advantage of just to see what it would feel like is I didnt let myself linger in the red light district- Amsterdam
Click to expand...


I was about to mention NOLA! Bstreet is awesome!
 
landshark said:
:off:



Local school in the area had an "African American Student of the Year" award. Student who's family had just moved to the area from from South Africa was voted unanimously for the award. School said he couldn't receive the award because he wasn't a "True" African American. :(

I guess the answer is no.
Click to expand...

Wow. They must give out a lot of awards.
 
Homercidal said:
I don't know how the NY law is worded, but I had a LEO on a Mustang forum once tell me that in Georgia, the local code states that you can't even drink beer from your porch because it's in public view. They have to put a coozie on their beers...
Click to expand...

That's how it is here. It has to be covered or in a glass. The cops don't really cause too much of a fuss over it because most people aren't even aware. If they see you with a beer, they'll stop and let you know, but odds are you won't get written up or anything.
 


Wow what a long thread. Some pretty funny comments in here.


There is really not much you can do about it other than keep doing what your doing. Either they will eventually get it or they won't. When the cops come just be prepared keep track of the officers names you have spoke with previously then make darn sure that they go tell the neighbors you are doing nothing wrong. As long as you are good with the rest of the neighbors and they have a clue. one of them will eventually tell the nosey neighbor and they will stop.

I had an old neighbor like that once before. When her husband died she became the nicest person on the block where as before she was pretty much a witch.

Ohh one more thing if the cops do come tell the cop that you want an apology from the neighbors when the LEO goes and talks to them. that will at least give them some humble pie

 
Beat them to it! pretend their gossip got lost in translation. call the cops and tell them your neighbour across the road said they're cooking meth :p thats what you said here right?
 
Me too! My neighbor asked me if I'm growing refer in the basement

image-3710728834.jpg



image-2988514554.jpg

.
 
I got that about a month ago. I was in ye old man cave Putting together another batch od summer shandy. It was a warm day, so I had the front door open. I heard a voice talking on a cell phone saying "yeah,it looks like a meth lab or something"...city folk,gotta love'em. No visits from the cops. Save for a few days ago,it was really warm. Again,front door open. Two cops walk in,wondering if everything's ok. I was typing a reply atm. They looked at my fermenters,fermenter stand,etc,not saying a word. What could they say with all those 12 pack boxes of bottles right next to it? I assured them everything was fine,& thanks for caring. They said they don't usually see a front door open in this neighborhood.
I even wondered if they were proceeding on a tip with the advantage of the open door bit?
 
I have yet to be mistaken for any kind of illicit activity. One neighbor is an occasional home brewer. Four know damn good and well what illicit activities really look like, and judging by the subject matter of his tattoos, one knows more than most. And I'm cool in the hood. You gotta be cool, man. Are you cool?
 
My wife & I were part of the underground counter culture in our day. But with the yuppies around here,kinda,but not really.
 
Zuljin said:
I have yet to be mistaken for any kind of illicit activity. One neighbor is an occasional home brewer. Four know damn good and well what illicit activities really look like, and judging by the subject matter of his tattoos, one knows more than most. And I'm cool in the hood. You gotta be cool, man. Are you cool?
Click to expand...

Sounds like my hood and neighbors!
 
Just tell the cops you're growing perles for a necklace for your wife. Perle necklace.....can't arrest you for that
 
unionrdr said:
I got that about a month ago. I was in ye old man cave Putting together another batch od summer shandy. It was a warm day, so I had the front door open. I heard a voice talking on a cell phone saying "yeah,it looks like a meth lab or something"...city folk,gotta love'em. No visits from the cops. Save for a few days ago,it was really warm. Again,front door open. Two cops walk in,wondering if everything's ok. I was typing a reply atm. They looked at my fermenters,fermenter stand,etc,not saying a word. What could they say with all those 12 pack boxes of bottles right next to it? I assured them everything was fine,& thanks for caring. They said they don't usually see a front door open in this neighborhood.
I even wondered if they were proceeding on a tip with the advantage of the open door bit?
Click to expand...

Begin: :off:
Would you be so kind as to share your recipe for shandy?
End: :off:
 
Have you considered printing out the relevant homebrewing laws for the US and your state and mailing it to them?

Actually, even better. Got any friends who are attorneys? Have them type up a quick letter as your representative to mention that you're in the clear.

Note -- *DON'T* have them add anything in the letter like "my client doesn't appreciate being harassed for engaging in legal activity on his property" or anything like that, which can be construed as a threat of legal action -- for all the horrible neighbors they've been, it's not clear they've done anything illegal. It's just good to let them know you're lawyer'ed up, and the very fact this comes from an attorney speaks volumes...
 
bwarbiany said:
Have you considered printing out the relevant homebrewing laws for the US and your state and mailing it to them?

Actually, even better. Got any friends who are attorneys? Have them type up a quick letter as your representative to mention that you're in the clear.

Note -- *DON'T* have them add anything in the letter like "my client doesn't appreciate being harassed for engaging in legal activity on his property" or anything like that, which can be construed as a threat of legal action -- for all the horrible neighbors they've been, it's not clear they've done anything illegal. It's just good to let them know you're lawyer'ed up, and the very fact this comes from an attorney speaks volumes...
Click to expand...

I don't mean to offend, but this is just overkill! I say just keep brewing, enjoy life, and ignore idiots! If they call the cops... bid deal! I'm sure the OP has nothing to hide (unless he's a closet serial killer)... :mug:
 
I was going to say something similar. That suggestion is a little overkill. This is a neighbor who should be ignored, period. The cops already know her proclivity towards calling them, and likely won't be investigating any of her claims. Ignore and brew on, we cannot concern ourselves with every person who has a problem with us, even if they do live next door.
 
Karyyk said:
I think I'd almost rather deal with the cops than try to "make nice" with people who've already shown that they're willing to spread a blatant, unfounded lie around your neighborhood. Not the kind of folks I want to be friends with...I'd rather share the beer with off-duty cops.
Click to expand...

Best first post ever.
 
Screw em. Name all your brews stuff like super speed, Withdrawal tea and methmania and make sure you use those names loudly. When the cops show up have them arrested for stalking and eavesdropping. Send em to jail and get some new neighbors. I hate a nosy prick next door neighbor worse than just about anything. I am a freindly easy going, loan you anything kind of neighbor, if you dont want to associate with me thats fine too. But dont make the mistake of tending my business because you will get burned for being stoopid.
Bob
 

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