Demanding Answers: Harlem Residents Say NYPD Officers' Illegally Parked Cars Are Putting Them At Risk
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Harlem residents say illegally parked cars are putting them at risk and it's members of the NYPD who are putting them there.
"This is a hazard, definitely a hazard," one person said.
Along Frederick Douglas Boulevard and 147th street in Harlem, it's not uncommon to see people standing in the road.
"The bus won't see you if you stand on the sidewalk. So you have to take a chance on standing in the street to wait for the bus," resident Angela Hampton told CBS2's Aundrea Cline-Thomas on Tuesday.
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It's because everyday cars are blocking the bus stop and the placards in the window say the vehicles belong to the NYPD. The Housing Police Precinct is a stone's throw from two bus stops. Hundreds of officers work out of the building and parking, even on the best of days, is in short supply.
"I have a disabled daughter who has a wheelchair and a lot of times the cars are in the crosswalks, so you can't go on the sidewalk where there's a little ramp because there's cars there," a resident said.
The cars block a whole lane of traffic. Buses have to stop in the middle of the road to allow passengers on. Trailing vehicles sometimes cross into the lane for oncoming traffic to get around.
"The cars are coming. You don't know who will be driving fast or who is going to try to hit you or anything like that," a resident said.
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The Metropolitan Transportation Authority told CBS2 it had "no comment," while the NYPD said it was looking into it. Mayor Bill de Blasio said that he would engage both agencies.
"Most important thing is that for community residents who need to get a bus, it needs to be done safely and we'll make the adjustments so we can do that," de Blasio said.
In the past, residents say their complaints only rendered short-term solutions.
"Somebody will come around and take their license plates and stuff like that. They are gone for a little while and next thing you know they are back here," a resident said.
That is why many say they will only believe there will be a change when they see it.
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