Friday, June 21, 2013

Cunningham Park truck problem


From the Queens Chronicle:

Residents are frustrated with trucks that won’t go away. Several 18-wheelers, some of which are used to transport cars, park on the north side of 73rd Avenue, between 210th Street and the Clearview Expressway, along Cunningham Park. The trucks come and go regularly, but they usually return.

Sometimes the line of trucks is merely an eyesore in a residential area, but when the Auburndale soccer league plays games on their Cunningham Park fields, the situation is downright dangerous. Since each truck takes up several spots, parents often double- and triple-park when they go to drop off and pick up their children. Traffic on that stretch of 73rd Avenue typically exceeds 40 miles per hour.

“It’s an accident waiting to happen,” Debbie Luongo, the league’s vice president, said.

Councilman Mark Weprin (D-Oakland Gardens) said that he has reported the trucks to the police numerous times and written several letters about the trucks, but the problem has persisted for over a year.

“It’s very infuriating,” Weprin said. “It is an issue and it annoys the heck out of me.”

A source from the 107th said the precinct receives complaints and has “issued summonses and taken initiatives,” but the trucking company pays the tickets because “it’s easier for them to pay the tickets than pay for storage.”

While the 18-wheelers and auto-transport trucks can be towed, the precinct said that it is difficult to store the trucks. The city only has a few tow trucks capable of towing such large vehicles.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

No excuses NYPD! ticket them and arrange to tow them.

Joe Moretti said...

Just vandalize them really bad, then maybe they will not park there. Do you think this would happen for one second near Central Park?

Why do people in Queens put up with so much shit. The powers to be are not helping you, so take the law into your own hands.

Anonymous said...

This is outright illegal! The same problem exists on Franci s Lewis Blvd as well as Utopia Pkwy.
What really is going on with all of these trucks???
INVESTIGATE NOW!

Anonymous said...

"Traffic on that stretch of 73rd Avenue typically exceeds 40 miles per hour."

The fact that cars regularly speed next to ball fields is just glossed over?!
That is a much bigger problem than the unsightly trucks.

"Since each truck takes up several spots, parents often double- and triple-park when they go to drop off and pick up their children."
Just because the trucks are taking up parking doesn't make it ok for parents to create the safety hazard by double and triple parking. They do have the option to park a little farther and walk. They are not concerned about safety, they are concerned about their own convenience.

These hypocrites only want the law enforced against others, not against their own dangerous behavior.


Queens Crapper said...

And once again, if there was enforcement, there wouldn't be any of these problems.

Anonymous said...

What really is going on with all of these trucks???

There is no legal place for them to go park, so they try to find spots away from homes where they are least likely to bother people.

They're caught between a rock and a hard place. A typical owner operator does not make enough money to afford a regular private spot in NYC, if they could even find one. Doing a quick google search I haven't found one yet.

Anonymous said...

Right, but people don't want enforcement against their own behavior. They don't HAVE to double and triple park. And the fact that the regular speeding is just mentioned in a very "that the way it is" manner is very telling.

If people make no effort to follow the law themselves, they have no right to complain about others.

Queens Crapper said...

The people complaining are civic people, not the drivers.

Anonymous said...

" A typical owner operator does not make enough money to afford a regular private spot in NYC, if they could even find one."

So maybe they shouldn't be owner operators. I don't see chicken farmers moving here and then complaining that there's no place for them to raise their chickens.

Anonymous said...

Most of the time, these trucks are from out of state. Are people sleeping in them?

Anonymous said...

Yes, there is a strong possibility that they are being used as rest stops by the drivers.

Two points:

1. Queens lax regulations must be known around the world as everyone from illegals to hillbilly truck drives freely takes advantage of it.

2. You are right, this does not happen at Central Park because the people will scream bloody hell and dog their elected officials until something is done about it.

In Queens you will speak quietly about it to a politician's second string staffer who will tell you confidently to call 311 and it will "be taken care of."

When that doesn't happen after two or three feeble attempts you will grumble to your friends that you "cannot fight city hall".

Joe Moretti said...

If the city really wanted to enforce this that could at least place up barriers where there is just enough space for regular size cars. Simple solutions that would solve huge trucks parking there. But again as Crapper stated there is a major problem with most enforcement in Queens, they do not even try with most shit, zoning, illegal construction, illegal apartments, litter laws, landlord issues, etc.

Anonymous said...

I don't see chicken farmers moving here and then complaining that there's no place for them to raise their chickens.

Careful, if they are the right tweeder group and it gets a photo op for the politicians' websites they will be there in force proposing legislation permitting it.

Anonymous said...

How about just providing a legal area for these guys to sleep? We depend upon goods delivered via interstate trucking.

These guys aren't evil millionaires (The Vallone Crime Family) - they're just working guys. You really don't want exhausted truckers on the roads.

Force the local pols to find a solution - don't just crap on these guys trying to make a living.

Anonymous said...

How about they park their trucks in manufacturing areas? No one will care if they are there.

As far as providing because they are interstate truckers, why do they have to stop to rest in NYC at all? Long Island is only 3 hours from end to end.