Local Leaders Urge Law Enforcers To Combat Commercial Vehicles On Residential Streets

With commercial vehicle parking on residential streets growing as a quality of life issue in Bensonhurst, Community Board 11 leaders have decided to take action.

Community Board 11 Chairperson Bill Guarinello and District Manager Marnee Elias-Pavia, have sent a resolution to New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly asking for more police enforcement overnight. They hope that frequent monitoring of this illegal parking will help mitigate this problem.

“Parking is difficult enough for residents in our community without all of the box trucks, buses and vans, which are registered as passenger vehicles but meet the definition of a commercial vehicle as defined by law, that park overnight,” Elias-Pavia wrote in the resolution.

According to the Department of Transportation, commercial vehicles cannot park on residential streets between the hours of 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. A violation of this rule may result in a $65 ticket for the vehicle-owner.

Still, Elias-Pavia said that the number of commercial vehicles bending this rule in Bensonhurst is only getting greater. With this community becoming a “pilot project” for traffic enforcement, she hopes that this can change.

“We need consistent enforcement,” Elias-Pavia said. “Parking in Bensonhurst is difficult enough. We need to address this quality of life issue.”

Here is the letter Community Board 11 has sent to NYPD brass, urging stronger enforcement to keep commercial vehicles off residential streets:

October 17, 2012

Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly
One Police Plaza
New York, New York 10038

Dear Commissioner Kelly:

At the general meeting of Community Board 11 held on Thursday, October 11, 2012, a resolution was unanimously adopted calling upon the New York City Police Department to initiate a pilot project within our district to aggressively and consistently enforce overnight commercial parking on our streets.

Parking is difficult enough for residents in our community without all of the box trucks, buses and vans, which are registered as passenger vehicles but meet the definition of a commercial vehicle as defined by law, that park overnight.

The 62nd Precinct enforces the commercial parking regulations on residential streets; however, we believe enforcement by a task force or Traffic Enforcement Agents that are assigned during the evening hours on a consistent basis would address this quality of life issue.

Presently, it appears that operators and or owners of commercial vehicles chalk-up a $65 summons as the price of doing business. However, continual and focused enforcement may incentivize those that avoid paying for off-street parking for commercial vehicles.

If you require any additional information, please contact me.

Sincerely,
Marnee Elias-Pavia
District Manager