Residents In Queens Neighborhood Fume Over Big Trucks Parked Illegally
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Some Queens residents say their neighborhood is turning into an illegal rest stop for trucks, with vehicles parked for days.
And even worse, where they are parked is creating close calls for drivers, CBS2's Lisa Rozner reported Sunday.
A detached flatbed sat on South Conduit Avenue with an Illinois license plate for three months. Behind it was a truck with a Maine license plate in the back and New York plates in the front, and no driver could be found.
"One could be parked there two or three nights. Then the next day another truck will come. I mean, it's sad. It really, really is," South Ozone Park resident Sonia Pabon said.
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But residents told Rozner the worst offenders are the trucks that park near the corner, like the one near 127th Street.
It's not clear how long the truck had been there, but it was long enough that someone left a note pleading "Stop parking here you're going to cause an accident."
It's hard to see oncoming traffic when you're turning on to South Conduit Avenue.
"When you're coming off one of the side streets to make a turn onto the Conduit they block your vision," one resident said.
"Dangerous because really it's bad," Pabon added. "I have called 311 three times and this was my last time and I gave up."
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Pabon said she's spent a lot of time on the phone complaining about the overnight parking to the city.
"You see the meter maids coming, but they don't see them giving tickets down there," she said. "Please come. Do something about it. It's ridiculous. My taxpayer dollars are not doing anything. What are they waiting for? Somebody to get killed on that corner? Or along this stretch before they do anything?"
One resident, who didn't want to give his last name, said the issue has come up at the NYPD's 106th Precinct community meetings.
"They're trying to do what they can, ya know? But it's hard. People just do what they wanna do today," he said.
A little more than an hour after Rozner reached out to the NYPD about this issue, she did see some enforcement. One ticket was issued and police checked out the other trucks. The Department said patrols would return.