Would you confirm with a photo of what the problematic area looks like? (Perhaps without showing the home itself). Or, would you mind confirming that this is not just simply a matter of taste, i.e., the homeowner simply prefers growing things that are not plain grass? Personally, I think grass is a waste of space. I am fearful of the suburban mindset that everyone must have a vast expanse of non-native grass in the yard and that alternatives are "bad taste."

Part of the problem is that a "curb strip", or a "planting strip", or whatever misnomer is already a suburban import. This 30" wide strip is useless for just about anything in an urban setting, especially given, in New Haven, that the city encourages planting trees below power lines, in an area where the tree is sure to get doored, and where the soil is usually compacted. The "strip" is convenient as a dog toilet. It is not convenient when getting out of a car, in heels, or in heels before, during or after a rain.
This particular property is absentee landlord owned, so there is no "homeowner". The property owner is responsible for the upkeep of strip. As a practical move, the city could allow the strip to be paved; there is a house, on Willow St., with no strip, i.e., an appropriate sized sidewalk.
I don't have a problem with a curbside garden; however, curbside gardens don't work, where there is curbside parking, as is the case here.
Unkempt curb strips make a neighborhood look like a ghetto, they attract trash, dog poop and indicate to the casual observer, the visitor, and the residents that the public realm is not cared for or about - which is really bad. In a run down, disorderly town, like New Have, a little order goes a long way; the bar here is set so low, in terms of aesthetics and public behaviour, that a little attention to detail makes a huge impression on the public psyche.

grass was cut this morning at 7:00 am...