New York Business Owner Outwits City with a Fence

A business owner in Queens named Anthony Della Vecchia owns an industrial lot that is home to his business, Michael Della Vecchia & Son General Contractor. The backside of his building runs along 19th Road and Della Vecchia says he frequently finds all sorts of garbage including used needles, condoms, beer bottles, etc. There would also occassionally be illegal dumping along this stretch of road.

His problem escalated last January when a woman walking down the sidewalk on 19th Road tripped and fell face first on the concrete. She was injured and decided to sue both Della Vecchia and the city for failing to maintain the sidewalk. But after reviewing the lawsuit, the city decided it wasn’t their problem. City property records showed that Della Vecchia was the owner of the land that included the sidewalk and a portion of 19th Road which was used for parking.

“They don’t own the property,” Della Vecchia told FOX 5 NY’s Duarte Geraldino, as an answer to how the city refused the lawsuit.

As the owner, that meant Della Vecchia was on the hook for the lawsuit. The city was saying he had sole responsibly since he owned the land. In order to avoid anything like that happening again, Della Vecchia spent $25,000 erecting a chain-link fence which covers his entire property, including the sidewalk and part of the street. 

The owner of an industrial lot in East Elmhurst installed a fence around his property.

The DOT wants it taken down by May 17. https://t.co/ki3RZ4aYz9

— FOX 5 NY (@fox5ny) May 7, 2025

The fence went up last April and since then some of his neighbors have been outraged.

Local residents have criticized Della Vecchia over the measure, stating that the act was not in the spirit of the law, even if he was legally entitled to do so.

Costa Constantinides, a former Council Member for District 22 and the current CEO of Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens, lives nearby and said he would have preferred if Della Vecchia had consulted with the local community before erecting the fence.

“If this was your property, then talk to people. We’re all adults,” Constantinides said.

In response, Della Vecchia contended that he owned the property and did not have to consult with anybody.

“Why do I have to consult people to do something on my own property?” Della Vecchia said.

Now that there are complaints about the fence from neighbors, the city is taking action. They gave Della Vecchia a 30-day notice to remove it. But he says he has no plans to comply with that order. Instead, he plans to prove his case in court.

Della Vecchia confirmed that the DOT issued him a 30-day order to remove the fence on April 17, stating that he will receive a violation if he does not remove the fence by May 17.

However, he said he is looking forward to his day in court and added that he has no intention of removing the fence before May 17. He said he has documents that prove he owns the sidewalk and a section of the roadway and plans to produce those documents in court.

The city is trying to have it both ways. If someone falls and injures themselves on the sidewalk, it’s 100% Della Vecchia’s problem and they will reject responsibility. However, if he puts a fence around “his property,” the city demands he take it down as if they have rights to use his property without compensation.

As Della Vecchia sees it, the city could buy the property that includes the road and the sidewalk from him for about one million dollars (based on the per SF value of property in Queens). If they won’t do that, he plans to leave the fence in place because whatever fine the city can dish out can’t compare to the cost of another slip and fall lawsuit for which he is solely responsible.

Here’s a local news report on the situation.