Van Sits For 6 Months, Despite Complaints

Don’t you just love those streets with no Alternate Side Parking regulations? Theoretically, you could leave your car there for months – maybe even years – and so long as no one complains you won’t get a ticket, right?

Well, sort of. It’s technically illegal. But even complaining to the city won’t help you, as one reader discovered.

The reader noticed a van on Avenue W between East 21st Street and East 22nd Street as far back as six months ago. It may also be involved in some illegal activity, he notes. In what appears to be yet another 311 blunder, the system of the future is the newest venue for city authorities to give residents the runaround.

Here’s what he wrote to us:

I was wondering if you can help me out. I’ve got an abandoned vehicle parked outside my house that’s been sitting there for over 6 months. I called 311 in September and again last week, but it’s still there and the government doesn’t seem to want to do anything about it.

I first noticed the van at the beginning of the summer. At first there was nothing strange about it, but as time passed I noticed that the owner was placing more and more bicycles in the van. I’ve never seen the owner, but the bicycles keep coming. I wondered if someone was stealing bicycles and storing them in this abandoned van. Now the van is full of bicycles and other assorted garbage and it’s still parked on my block. I’ve attached some pictures so you can see what I’m talking about.

As I said, I called 311 in September and logged a complaint….

I had no idea what any of this meant, so I gave it a few days and when nothing happened I called 311 for an explanation. They said that “REFERED TO SOL,” meant that it was ticket passed to the 61st precinct and that the police would handle it. I tried calling the precinct and I haven’t been able to get an answer from them.  I let it go until 12/3 when I called 311 again. Following up with 311, I was given this….

Looks like nothing’s going to happen with this van. So my question to you – Can you help me get this van off my street? We really need the parking space back!

I wonder if anyone would allow such a mysterious van to sit in Times Square?

Here are the photos he sent in: