New York City is stepping up parking enforcement on semi trucks in Brooklyn, a place where drivers say there is nowhere else left to park.
“It’s really unfair,” said 41-year-old truck driver Ricky Ewers, who says the Foster Avenue frontage road between East 83rd and East 87th streets where officers are now aggressively enforcing parking was one of the last places left to park in his area.
Prior to the recent enforcement, truckers would park their rigs along the road behind Brooklyn Terminal Market at night with no issues, despite the signs designating the area as a ‘no standing zone’ during ‘overnight hours.’ But now, the Brooklyn Terminal Market has asked officers to enforce the overnight policy, displacing truck drivers.
“The problem is that trucks parked on the service road interfere with daily market operations. They block traffic, so our trucks can’t get out… And it’s not fair to our guys who drive all day and then there’s nowhere for them to park,” said Charlie Ciraolo, head of the cooperative that owns and manages the space.
Still, truckers don’t buy Ciraolo’s explanation and feel they have been unfairly kicked out, reported the Brooklyn Eagle.
“We don’t bother nobody… There are no yards in Brooklyn. There’s parking at JFK, but it’s full. Why should I have to park in Jersey? I’m serving the market,” said 39-year-old trucker Richard Andrews, pointing out that he has been parking along that road since 2000.
“It’s what the community wants,” explained Officer Yhayh Saleh, who says he’s not thrilled about having to kick truckers out of their familiar spots.
“The drivers are all gentlemen… but they can’t be here, and they know that,” added Officer Matthew Mauro.
“I don’t know why these people are complaining… We bring the food to the grocery store. We take your garbage to the landfill. And yet we’re still getting chastised because we park here,” Andrews said.
Since the acceleration of semi truck parking tickets, police have said that they will organize a meeting between Brooklyn Terminal Market and the truckers, but that has yet to be set in motion.
