Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Queens Center Mall caught using bogus 'no parking' signs

From the Daily News:

Parking attendants at a Queens mall have been caught red-handed posting phony no-parking signs on street meters that lure drivers into their garage.

The neon-hued signs were marked with an NYPD emblem and taped to meters outside the garage entrance of the Queens Center Mall in Elmhurst.

The signs may have looked official, but they're not, said NYPD spokesman Sgt. Carlos Nieves.

"The precinct was not aware that these signs were being put up," he said in response to inquiries from the Daily News. "The only people that are allowed to put these signs up are the NYPD."

The bogus signs, often reinforced by traffic cones and sawhorses, blocked off 12two-hour meters on 57th Ave. They often appeared on holidays and especially Sundays, when metered parking is free, angry shoppers said.

Queens Center Mall spokeswoman Dawn Simon said eliminating street parking was meant to "facilitate traffic flow" during the mall's busiest days.

Garage employees began posting them in 2004 with police approval when the mall was expanding, she said. But when construction ended at the end of that year, so did the validity of the signs.

"Initially, the signage was provided by the Police Department," Simon said. "Rather than have them re-issue the signs over and over, we created signs."

Officers from the 110th Precinct have since informed garage employees that the signs should be taken down, Nieves said.

"We have discontinued them," Simon said. "We will not be putting the signs up anymore."

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Queens Center Mall spokeswoman Dawn Simon said eliminating street parking was meant to "facilitate traffic flow" during the mall's busiest days.

Who is running the streets - the Mall or the Police? The Police should be pissed off - where are they in Elmhurst? They are located so far away in the middle of nowhere. The precinct should be moved to Queens Blvd or have a satilight precinct to handle the new Rego Park mall. Our neighborhoods have less coverage because of all of the activity the police respond to at these malls. Nice to build these shopping temples, another issue as to who will pay for the additional police coverage it will take away from the rest of us.

We should have had Walmart with free parking move it. Our city Pols worry about what good for their pocket book and fear Walmart is not going to roll over for anyone. Yet we have no low price offerings except for Target. A missed opportunity!

Anonymous said...

Walmart, a missed opportunity? You can't be serious.

Anonymous said...

Malls have a history of doing crap like this. The first thing Hemmerdinger did when he decided to lose his money by opening Atlas was put up bogus signs saying no standing any time all along Cooper to 88th street. As far as Walmart missing an opportunity, there is no better way to kill a neighborhood than building a Walmart. Read some of the Walmart sucks sites:

http://webhost.bridgew.edu/jhayesboh/badbusiness.html

http://www.dmoz.org/Society/Issues/Business/Allegedly_Unethical_Firms/Wal-Mart/

You do NOT want a Walmart in your neighborhood believe me
or this list:

Anonymous said...

they should be forced to make restitution to anybody that has parked in there garage cause of the illegal sings show your receipt from a purchase from the mall and every customer should get a free parking pass hurt them in the pocket they had no problem hrting the consumer by there scam now let them feel the pain in there pocket that they did to to the public who the street they blocked off belongs to

Anonymous said...

Are the cops that balless that they "asked" to have the signs taken down? rip them down,confiscate the barriers and lock up up anyone who interferes.

faster340 said...

Are you kidding me? The city of NY is making out on this. The ticket cops were out in full force writing up tickets so it forces you to use the pay to park lot which benefits the mall. They had 1 entrance garage door open 2 exit doors open and the line was down the block to get in...