Saturday, April 2, 2011

Sanitation cleans up cars after news report


From WPIX:

In Maspeth, city streets have been converted into a dumping ground of crashed cars.

On 59th street and Flushing Avenue, Tony Nunziato, a self-described Maspeth activist, says he’s fed up with an auto-body shop leaving busted up cars on the street.

Worse than just being an eyesore, Nunziato says that the broken-down vehicles are taking up parking spaces that the neighborhood could otherwise use.

"It’s the Wild West out here for garbage and wrecked cars. Why isn't the city doing something about this?" complained Nunziato who has called 311 for months.

Repeated attempts by PIX11 News, to speak with the owners of American Collision were denied.

A Department of Sanitation spokesperson confirms he spoke with the owner of American Collision and will be monitoring the situation closely.


20 comments:

Maspeth Bill said...

Good going Tony Nunziato. He did in one day what Council Member Crowley couldn't do in one year.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, this is what civic life in NYC has come to- DIY! This is the real reason people + businesses leave!

Anonymous said...

If a car is registered (with plates) and inspected, is there any legal reason it cant be parked on the street, even with body damage? Were the cars that were removed unregistered or uninspected? Is there a law that prohibits businesses from parking private vehicles on the street? I would like to know why exactly the vehicles were removed. Taking the neighborhood parking spots, as inconsiderate as that is, is not a legitimate reason for the city to remove a car, I think you will agree.

Queens Crapper said...

Your car must be able to pass inspection in order for it to be parked on the street. It doesn't matter if it passed one awhile back. Missing pieces or a totaled vehicle means it's not passable and therefore ticketable and towable.

This establishment parks cars not only on the street, but on the sidewalk and on the pedestrian triangle. Many of the cars are missing plates. I have a whole treasure trove of these photos which will soon be posted.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the explanation crappy.
I wish the news story made an attempt at explaining how the city was able to tow the cars. It just would have been good reporting.

Anonymous said...

Dizzy Miss Lizzy Crowley is a waste of city council space. Her office is totally useless. I gave up months ago trying get any help from that office.

Anonymous said...

Is there a law that prohibits businesses from parking private vehicles on the street?

YES, Yes, there is. The same one that says you can't put a "For Sale" sign in your car window and park it on the street. Public parking is for personal, not commercial use.

Anonymous said...

Maybe Mr. Nunziato should run for city council. He seems to be the only person in this town to make things happen. He's been involved in community civics for years and is very effective. He would be a refreshing change compared to Dizzy Lizzy Crowley. The only thing wrong with Mr. Nunziato is that he belongs to the wrong party and therefore would never be sanctioned or elected in this one-party city.

Anonymous said...

"YES, Yes, there is. The same one that says you can't put a "For Sale" sign in your car window and park it on the street. Public parking is for personal, not commercial use."

I'm curious to see the wording of the law. I'm pretty sure you can put a for sale sign on your personal vehicle, but are not allowed to do so if you are a dealer. And how do restaurants get away with using public streets for valet parking?

Anonymous said...

"Public parking is for personal, not commercial use."
I think that is incorrect. You can park a truck or company vehicle legally at a meter, or on a residential street for up to three hours if it has commercial plates.

The thing is these are personal cars registered to individuals. The fact that someone else is driving or parking them doesn't make them commercial or business vehicles.

So hypothetically , if I take my car to my mechanic and he parks it on the street before he works on it, is that legal? If not, then what is the violation. Now if I take my car to my mechanic and I park it on the street and tell him to get it when he is ready to work on it, that should be no problem right?
Unless someone is watching who is parking the car I don't see how a ticket would hold up.

Queens Crapper said...

It's your car. You lent it to someone. They parked it illegally. You get the fine. It's up to you to get compensation from the body shop just as if you let a friend borrow it.

Anonymous said...

Yes, but what is the statute that makes it illegal, and who is to say I didn't park it there?
To put it another way, if it is indeed illegal for a shop to park my car on the street, how can the person writing the ticket know who parked it unless they saw the car being parked?
I'm talking about just an average undamaged car, not one with missing headlights, plate, ect, which are violations of their own.

Queens Crapper said...

That's a moot point because they all are damaged or in violation in this case. I have the photos.

If tow trucks are parking cars on a street that do not have visible damage and have plates, then they can be ticketed for doing so if observed by police. Unfortunately, most of these tow trucks work for the police...

Anonymous said...

Ok, I'm looking at the traffic regs. For starters, it looks like you can put a for sale sign on your personal car.
(n) Special restrictions on parking.
(1) Parking for sales purposes prohibited. No person regularly engaged in the
sale of vehicles shall park a vehicle upon any roadway or off-street parking facility for the principal purpose of displaying such vehicle for sale.


It seems to me that a shop can park a car on the street, as long as it is not to work on said car on the street.
(2) Parking for certain purposes prohibited. No person regularly engaged in
the repair of vehicles shall park a vehicle upon any roadway or off-street parking
facility for the principal purpose of washing, greasing, or repairing such vehicle,
except repairs necessitated by an emergency.

Here is the one that probably got most of the body shop cars ticketed and towed:
(8) Vehicles must have proper equipment. No person shall stand or park a
motor vehicle, motorcycle or limited use vehicle on any street at any time unless
it is equipped with head lamps, rear lamps, reflectors and any other equipment
required by any provision of the Vehicle and Traffic Law.

Another interesting one.
(9) Street storage of vehicles prohibited. When parking is not otherwise
restricted by posted signs, no person shall park any vehicle in any area, including
a residential area, in excess of seven consecutive days.
Must be nearly impossible to get that one enforced.

Anonymous said...

"If tow trucks are parking cars on a street that do not have visible damage and have plates, then they can be ticketed for doing so if observed by police."

What is the violation exactly? If I break down and have my car towed in front of my home can I be ticketed?

Speaking of tow trucks, you probably know about this scam, when a tow truck tows a car from a private lot, you can go to jamaica or wherever to pick it up for $100 or so, or they can bring it back to where they towed it from for $150 or so (not sure of the $ amounts). So what they do is tow the car a couple of blocks, and wait till the panicking shopper says to bring it back. An extra $50 to drive a couple of blocks and wait a bit. Talk about a racket.

Anonymous said...

Yes Crappy, I realize it is a moot point in this particular case, I was really addressing the anonymous commenter who claimed that public parking was for private, not commercial use. I am also interested in the specifics of the law and how it applies in general. This isn't the only business doing this obviously. This case just happens to have a technical way for the city to address it (equipment violations).

Anonymous said...

All those cars that were parked on local streets were in need of repair and I'm sure some of them were not drivable. The car that had litter under the damaged hood was there for a while. Our local streets should not become dumping grounds for businesses.

Queens Crapper said...

"What is the violation exactly? If I break down and have my car towed in front of my home can I be ticketed?"

No, that would be residential parking. If a tow truck driver parks the car on the street outside a repair shop, the shop in effect is using the street as a commercial parking lot. Remember that the shops charge motorist storage fees yet park them on the street. That's fraud.

Anonymous said...

Good point Crappy, thanks.

Anonymous said...

It's the parking on sidewalks that makes me nuts. Wheelchairs and baby carriages are forced into the street - and the areas where businesses know they can get away with sidewalk-parking are usually also the areas where drivers are maniacs...