Illegal Parking Still Rampant At Long Island City NYPD Precinct

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — The neighborhood of Long Island City may have a new police commander, but at least one thing remains unchanged: complaints of illegal parking on the sidewalks surrounding the 108th Precinct police station on 50th Avenue.

The issue dates back to at least 2010, according to City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, and has long frustrated people with disabilities, parents pushing strollers and other pedestrians walking by the precinct house.

Parking on city sidewalks is illegal, but complaints about such violations are handled by officers from the local police precinct. When the perpetrators are police, that leaves neighbors with little recourse — other than pleading with the NYPD to move their vehicles.

“It is unacceptable that the 108th precinct, or any precinct in the City of New York, parks on sidewalks, blocking pedestrian space,” Van Bramer said in a statement to Patch. “Being an NYPD employee doesn’t give you free reign to break and flaunt the law. They need to stop and they need to stop now.”

As the anonymous illegal-parking watchdog group Placard Abuse wrote in an emailed statement to Patch, "We just celebrated the 30th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, yet the NYPD remains one of the worst offenders."

"There is a dangerous structural flaw in the nation's largest law enforcement agency when they are so aggressive in their attitude about breaking the law and discriminating against the people they are paid to protect and serve," the group added.

NYPD Detective Sophia Mason, a police spokesperson, told Patch that commanding officer Lavonda Wise is "aware of parking conditions" outside the station house and "has worked to address it."

"Due to lack of available parking and ongoing construction in the area, precinct parking for both patrol vehicles and personal vehicles is extremely limited," Mason said in a statement. "Precinct personnel ensure that ample space is available in front of the precinct for wheelchairs and strollers."

In response to recent photos of illegally-parked police cars that left only a narrow space on the sidewalk for pedestrians, a police spokesperson denied that there are still marked patrol cars parked in front of the precinct.

A person with a wheelchair definitely cannot fit through here.

And the @NYPD108Pct obviously knows that they are doing this.

Despite the lies that their "Neighborhood Policing" supervisor wrote to us about it. pic.twitter.com/CXQlrPkjrE
— placard corruption (@placardabuse) March 1, 2021

3/2/21 50th ave sidewalk not space for pedestrians @NYPDShea @SenGianaris @JimmyVanBramer #catherinenolan @NYCMayor @RepMaloney @brentoleary @juliewon2021 @SleeplessLIC @meri155lic @DrichardsQns @NYCDisabilities @nyc311 pic.twitter.com/EE3qgQ0gBP
— Rodrigo Salazar (@pabilas) March 2, 2021