Residents of Bay Ridge, South Brooklyn, New York City have had a problem with illegally parked tractor-trailers since 2019. The problem has grown so much that it is now a “quality of life issue”. South Brooklyn residents are looking for an immediate response from the authorities to solve this problem.
The problem arose during the pandemic. During the pandemic, drivers of tractor-trailers started to leave their vehicles along the street for significant periods of time. Nowadays, it will be more accurate to say that those vehicles are not parked but stored there. The worst is on the outskirts of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights near the Dyker Beach Golf Course on 86th Street at Seventh Avenue.
Residents of this area complain that trucks are taking up their parking spaces. Finding parking in this part of South Brooklyn is practically impossible at night. In addition to problems with parking spaces, tractor-trailers pollute the streets. Truck drivers leave behind food, drink leftovers, discarded tires, and other trash.
Moreover, residents of South Brooklyn are concerned about the unknown contents of the parked trucks.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) has a list of rules and restrictions where is clearly stated that is not permitted for a trailer or semi-trailer to park anywhere on the street or arterial highway. The only situation when they can stop is during loading and unloading at off-street platforms. Commercial vehicles can not park in residential areas from 9 pm to 5 am.
According to the statement of local Councilmember, Justin Brannan, despite persisting in ticketing irresponsible drivers, no real results have been achieved. NYPD and Patrol Borough Brooklyn South fined 6,875 drivers of illegally parked trucks and towed 27 tractor-trailers last year, but the trend persisted.
Officials are aware that a long-term solution must be found. Police move trucks off the streets of South Brooklyn, but the trucks need somewhere to park. Finding a space that would be a parking lot for these trucks is necessary. In cooperation with Maimonides Health and the NYC Department of Transportation, the city is trying to organize back-in angle parking along the golf course side from Poly Prep to VA Hospital.
Until this parking is built, the police will continue to fine illegally parked trucks.
Justin Brennan and state senator Andrew Gounardes decided to jointly form an illegal truck parking task force that would assess the situation on the ground every month.
The only permanent solution to the problem of illegally parked tractor-trailers is to create a separate parking lot for them. Until then, this “quality of life issue” will remain unresolved, despite all the efforts of the police to remove trucks from South Brooklyn, New York.
