Neighbor Wars·
THE CHARGING BRIDGE
A condo neighbor blocks a reserved space by running an EV charging cable over another car, turning a grass patch into a charging lane and sparking a hostile showdown.
Tow first or keep warning him?
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A neighbor stretched an EV charging cable over a parked car and blocked the driver from opening the door.
The poster lives in a condo and townhouse community where parking is reserved, and the space in front of their house is paid for. Then a neighbor referred to as Jim bought an electric vehicle and had a charging station installed. The problem was placement: the only spot for the charger was right next to the poster's parking space.
That setup quickly turned into a daily nuisance. Jim began using the poster's reserved space to charge his car while the poster was away at work. Every day, the poster came home and had to call Jim to move it.
The poster says Jim acted as if the arrangement was acceptable, claiming "he has a right to take my parking space to charge while I'm not home." After repeated disruptions, the poster finally pushed back: "I've threatened to have him towed if it happens again."
The warning did not stop him.
Yesterday, the poster returned home and found Jim parked in the grass in front of the house so he could charge his car there instead. The poster told him not to do that, saying, "please don't park in the grass. it's where my kids play." The grass in front of the house was not just landscaping; it was a place where children played, and now it had become part of Jim's charging setup.
By this morning, the situation had escalated again.
The poster woke up to find Jim had stretched the charging cable over the poster's car and plugged it into his own vehicle. Jim had parked so close that the poster could not even open their car door. The charging cord ran over the top of the parked car like a makeshift bridge, turning the reserved space into part of Jim's personal charging lane.
When the poster tried to contact him, Jim would not answer. The poster said he had become "extremely hostile" toward them.
Now the poster is left asking, "what do I even do?" after a neighbor repeatedly used a paid parking space, moved onto the grass, and finally tied up the poster's own car just to keep charging his EV.