The NYPD 104th Precinct has towed 463 vehicles this year and expects to surpass that soon, according to Commanding Officer Captain Karam Chowdhury. Last year, they towed 553 vehicles, leaving them just 90 cars shy of last year’s total, making this year even more productive.
The NYPD’s 104th Precinct has towed 463 vehicles so far this year and expects to surpass last year’s total within the next few months, according to Commanding Officer Captain Karam Chowdhury.
Last year, the 104th Precinct, which serves Ridgewood, Maspeth, Glendale and Middle Village, towed 553 vehicles in total, Chowdhury shared exclusively with QNS.
Now just 90 vehicles shy of last year’s total, the precinct is on track to surpass that number, marking an even more productive year.
Notably, between Sunday, July 14, and Wednesday, Aug. 14, the precinct towed exactly 90 vehicles, Chowdhury noted.
Ongoing efforts to address residents’ quality-of-life concerns regarding illegally parked and derelict vehicles are what Chowdhury says keep the existing issues at bay.
“We want to make sure that people can park their vehicles instead of derelict vehicles or unregistered vehicles parking in the street,” Chowdhury said. “We just make sure that we do as much as we can to elevate [resident’s] parking issues. Especially in this neighborhood.”
Residents and elected officials’ attempts to have the 104 thwart the problem with derelict vehicles and illegally parked cars have also led to e-scooter confiscations.
As a whole, the precinct is up 110% in summonses directly co-related to e-scooters, Chowdhury added.
One example, shared early on Wednesday, Aug. 14, shows the precinct taking to social media to share at least six confiscations of more e-scooters in the area. Additional posts throughout the year also show officers with confiscated e-scooters, loading them into a larger truck to be hauled away.
Chowdhury, who took over command of the 104th Precinct towards the end of January this year, continues to grapple with the logistics of tackling 311 parking complaints with a limited amount of resources.
Regardless of the challenges and the thousands of 311 complaints overall, the CO says the issues will continue to be addressed.
“We take complaints, we try to gather information and try to see where our most complaints coming from,” Chowdhury said, “Then we target those locations, making sure that these cars are no longer in the street if it’s derelict, or not registered.”
