Honking Near Queens Midtown Tunnel Causing Headaches For Residents
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- People who live near the Queens Midtown Tunnel say the constant honking by frustrated drivers is giving them quite a headache.
When darkness falls over Manhattan, you can bet the blocks leading up to the tunnel will be lit up by red brake lights. But it's more than the city's signature traffic trouble, CBS2's Jessica Layton reported.
Tanya Codispodi, of Murray Hill, didn't think people would believe how bad it is, so she took a video from her 11th floor apartment on East 36th Street.
"It's literally like a symphony of horns and they just don't stop," she said.
"I learned to put a pair of headphones on and go to sleep," another resident, Peter Hochstein, said.
The traffic tie-ups and wailing horns are worst when the MTA closes one of the tubes in the tunnel as part of ongoing construction to repair damage done by Superstorm Sandy.
"Every night, every day on the weekend. There's really no break," Murray Hill resident Scott Rifkin said.
Signs that say "don't honk" are posted in a few areas leading up to the tunnel. In fact, you can be fined $350. But a lot of people who live there say the city isn't doing much to enforce the rule.
The NYPD said officers are instead focusing on making sure drivers don't block the box, keeping crosswalks clear for pedestrians, and cracking down on motorists making illegal turns and lane changes.
Residents welcomed added patrols, saying the situation is getting dangerous.
"We've had issues with emergency vehicles not being able to get down the block at all," Rifkin said.
Until the construction is done, they're asking people to lay off their horns.