Illegally parked RVs have taken over Red Hook, Brooklyn neighborhood, residents say
NEW YORK -- For more than a year, residents of Red Hook, Brooklyn say parts of their streets have been permanently occupied by campers and recreational vehicles, creating concerns around safety and sanitation.
"If I ran a generator 24/7, I would be ticketed. If I parked my car on the street and had no inspection stickers, if I had a trailer with no inspection sticker or registration, I would be towed. I would be ticketed," said Frank Falcinelli, who reached out to CBS News New York to bring awareness to the issue.
Falcinelli walked reporter Hannah Kliger through the neighborhood, showing the campers steps away from Red Hook Park, where kids play soccer almost daily.
Off camera, one of the men who lives in a camper told Kliger it is one of the few spots they can park without getting a ticket, and he actually moves the camper every two days.
Falcinelli said that's not true.
"This guy's been here all summer, hasn't moved. He's got his extended cab bumped out into traffic, has the audacity to put down a cone, has a bicycle, and to add insult to injury, has a 'no trespassing' sign on his front door," Falcinelli said.
New York City law does not allow RVs to park in the same spot for more than 24 hours.
So what's being done about it?
Queens Councilman Robert Holden has been pushing a bill to tighten those restrictions after noticing the issues in his district.
"That's why we're writing a new law that will treat the RV as essentially like a commercial vehicle that they can't park on any street for more than 3 hours and they can't park overnight," Holden explained.
The NYPD says the 76th Precinct is aware of the problem. It has issued 388 parking violations and 80 summonses for missing plates in the neighborhood year-to-date.
Last month, officers conducted a joint operation to remove some of the mobile homes and connect people to the resources they may need.
"You don't see this in Manhattan. You really don't see it anywhere in New York. But, you know, when you go for walks here, it's just it's odd," said John Chasteen, who works in the neighborhood.
The Department of Sanitation said it leads an abandoned and ghost vehicle task force, and plans to conduct an operation in the area in the coming weeks.
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