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Will DOT Ever Notice This Illegal Sidewalk Parking?
By
Ben Yakas
Published Mar 9, 2012
Modified Mar 9, 2012
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Mar 9, 2012
Modified Mar 9, 2012
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The sidewalks are the domain of tourists, prospectors and preachy Park Slope moms. There's no room for cabs, and there's certainly no room for car dealerships to let their products idle. But it's not like common decency stops some dealerships: a tipster sent us the above photos, and asked, "One dealership on the West Side has the habit of parking many of their cars on the sidewalks. Is that legal? Authorized?"
No, it is definitely not legal—according to the Department Of Transportation, stopping, standing or parking on a sidewalk warrants a $115 fine. But our tipster says he has contacted the DOT several times, and not heard from them about any of his complaints. Along with the sidewalk parking, he's also complained about graffiti on newsstands, missing bus info panels, damaged roofs and shattered glass: "I doubt I will hear from DOT. I [emailed them] over 8 times since last August. [They are] not responding to my requests and at the same time the needed work is being ignored. Do you know why DOT is stone walling me?"
This practice is not unique to NYC either (we've seen Parking Wars!). Another reader told us about his friend's bizarre and scary encounters with a car dealership in Newark last year, where one dealership would park their cars on the sidewalk, forcing him off the sidewalk and into the street while walking.
My friend finally got so fed up with them, he called the cops. At first the cops gave them a slap on the wirst, because they were all buddy-buddy. Obviously police knew about them parking the cars on the street, but they didn't do anything. So the cops came and said something like, "Okay okay just move the cars"—but the guys didnt, and my friend called the cops again. And the second time, they did get pissed that they didn't obey. Basically, the dealership people pushed their luck. Then the cops were pissed.
They brought over this huge tow truck with a huge bed, they loaded up all their cars and took them away. Later that day, my friend was walking from the Newark train station home and they pulled up alongside him in car. And a couple guys from the dealership leaned out and said, "Hey f----t, we're gonna hire a n----r to kill you." After that, he started avoiding them, changing his routes, and he'd always try to walk with other people. And now he doesn't live there anymore.
Tagged
anger
dot
illegal
manhattan
parking
sidewalk
stone walling
tickets
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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