Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Southeast Queens residents say truckers use their neighborhood as a parking lot
By
Ben Feuerherd
Published Mar 9, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Ben Feuerherd / Gothamist
By
Ben Feuerherd
Published Mar 9, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A neighborhood street near John F. Kennedy Airport has become a virtual parking lot for 18-wheeler trucks, other commercial vehicles and live-in trailers — filling the area with the truckers, engine noise and piles of garbage.
That, along with persistent illegal dumping in the nearby Idlewild Park wetlands, has residents calling on city agencies for help.
In 2022, Mayor Eric Adams vowed to address illegal commercial parking in southeast Queens through a program he called “Operation Heavy Duty Enforcement.” But residents and a local official say in the years since the mayor announced the operation, the parking issues have persisted — in large part because the airport does not have adequate parking for trucks that pass in and out of it.
“There is a problem. And a big one,” State Sen. James Sanders Jr., of southeast Queens and the Rockaways, said in a recent interview. “Everyone knows that people are flouting the law.”
The problem affects residents of Rosedale, Brookville and Springfield Gardens — all in the shadow of the international travel hub. The neighborhoods are also dotted with scenic wetlands and parks, providing seclusion for truckers looking to store large vehicles on public streets.
On a recent morning, Gothamist took a tour of one of the hotspots on Springfield Boulevard next to Springfield Park with local resident Sandra Long, who has lived in neighboring Rosedale for 30 years.
Springfield Park is on the road where truckers and other drivers routinely park.
Ben Feuerherd / Gothamist
In a less-than-half-a-mile stretch, at least 17 commercial vehicles were parked along Springfield Boulevard: a mix of tractor-trailers, box trucks, car carriers and live-in campers. A number of trailers had been disconnected from their cabs and left abandoned on the street. License plates on the vehicles hailed from places like Florida and Indiana. One of the trucks, a car carrier, had a boot on its front left tire and a paper notice from the City Sheriff's Office on its driver-side window.
Next to the trucks, the tree-lined sidewalk was littered with bags of trash, empty liquor bottles and a gallon water jug half-filled with what appeared to be urine. Under one of the trees, a dead black and white cat’s body was sprawled amongst discarded trash.
“They leave a lot of garbage,” Long said as she walked along the road and took photos of the trucks with a digital camera. “This is what goes on.”
Under city law, commercial vehicles are only allowed to park for three hours on residential streets during the day.
“They don’t enforce that, the three-hour rule,” Long said.
An NYPD spokesperson said police have issued about 124 parking summons for illegal commercial parking in the area since Dec. 19, and have also towed some vehicles and disabled others with tire boots.
Sanders, the state senator, said the city's efforts are not enough.
“Everyone is kind of looking the other way. I’m talking city government,” he told Gothamist. “The origin of the problem is that we live right by Kennedy Airport. I would argue that everyone knows that people are flouting the law, but a real crackdown would cause Kennedy Airport — the business traffic there — to grind to a halt.”
The site of an illegal garbage dump next to an elementary school in Idlewild Park.
Ben Feuerherd / Gothamist
The airport is currently undergoing a $19 billion renovation. Sanders said the plan includes “nothing near” the amount of parking spaces for trucks that serve the airport, and he placed blame on the Port Authority, which runs the JFK.
“Until you have the Port Authority willing to be a worthy neighbor to the community you will have this problem,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Port Authority pointed Gothamist to a 2023 press release in which the agency announced 150 new truck parking spots. But Sanders told Gothamist the effort is not enough, and that the ongoing problem demonstrates that.
Residents say the truck invasion is compounded by a second issue: illegal dumping on secluded wetlands in the area.
Long said she and other community members identified a large dump in the wetlands behind a local elementary school.
Dozens of bags of garbage, wood, furniture and other debris were still piled there when Gothamist toured the area.
The city's sanitation and parks departments both said they are not responsible for overseeing the area where the trash was piled.
Vincent Gragnani, a spokesperson for the city Department of Sanitation, said the area is “under the jurisdiction of the parks department” and is a known illegal dumping location.
Gregg McQueen, a parks department spokesperson, said the area is private property and not under that department's jurisdiction.
Tagged
queens
public safety
Ben Feuerherd
Ben Feuerherd covers public safety and policing for WNYC and Gothamist. He previously covered federal courts for The New York Post and The Messenger. His work has also appeared in POLITICO, the Daily Beast and NBC New York. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .