Letter To The Editor: Parking And Abandoned Cars

To the editor:

Thank you for your recent article on abandoned and illegally parked cars on Hinckley Place off Coney Island Avenue (Whose Parking Lot Is Hinckley Place? by Liena Zagare – April 21, 2017). It is good to know that I am not the only one that has noticed.

I have attached a photograph of an obviously abandoned minivan parked on Turner Place, between Coney Island Avenue and East Eighth Street, a blue Honda Odyssey with the dashboard VIN removed and bearing Massachusetts plates 3XT 579.

This car has been on the street since at least March 4. I have written to 311 on at least eight different occasions, asking that it be towed. The following is a history of my service requests and the response that was posted the following day:

Service Request No.        Date          Disposition

C1-1-1376570151        Mar 7          “duplicate, Closed — No Further Updates”
C1-1-1384812511        Mar 24        “REFERRED TO PKG COND UNIT TO INVESTIGATE…”
C1-1-1388873661        Apr 3          “REFERRED TO PKG COND UNIT”
C1-1-1392106121        Apr 11        “The Police…determined that police action was not necessary.”
C1-1-1393171631        Apr 13        “The Police…responded…and took action to fix the condition.”
C1-1-1395844971        Apr 20       “The Police…determined that police action was not necessary.”
C1-1-1396691471        Apr 24        “REFERRED TO PKG COND UNIT”
C1-1-1399195641        Apr 28

As of this afternoon, April 28, the car is still there.

I went to the 66th Precinct Community Council meeting on April 20, where other residents also complained about the lack of parking enforcement in our neighborhoods. I spoke with Community Affairs Officer Thomas Kukla and gave him information about the vehicle, its location, the fact that it has been there for almost two months, and the occasions I had written into 311 to try and get it removed. We will see what happens.

With the recent construction of the school on Coney Island Avenue between Turner Place and Hinckley Place, and the ever-increasing number of construction dumpsters parked on the side streets in Kensington, parking is getting harder to find. These derelict vehicles taking up street space are a nuisance that can no longer be tolerated.

I am encouraged to know that residents are voicing their concerns in the Facebook group, at the precinct council, and in the community paper.

Yours truly,
Michael Grinshtein
Brooklyn