Bay Ridge

Community Board 10 raises concerns over idle trucks

Big rigs parked overnight on residential streets

October 26, 2017 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Community Board 10 District Manager Josephine Beckmann gave the board an update on various projects and issues in Bay Ridge. Eagle file photo by Paula Katinas
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It’s illegal to park commercial vehicles, like trucks and trailers, on residential streets overnight, but that isn’t stopping drivers from doing it anyway, Community Board 10 leaders have charged.

Board 10 District Manager Josephine Beckmann is ringing alarm bells over the annoying habit of some truck drivers who park their big rigs on residential streets, a practice that eats up parking spaces that would otherwise be taken up by cars.

“This month saw an increase in complaints regarding storage of commercial vehicles during the overnight hours. All complaints were forwarded to the 68th Precinct,” Beckmann told board members at a meeting last week.

In recent weeks, trucks and trailers have been found on 74th Street between 12th and 14th avenues, 86th Street around the perimeter of the Dyker Golf Course and Seventh Avenue from 73rd Street to Bay Ridge Parkway, Beckmann said.

Truck drivers are subject to summonses and fines for parking overnight on residential streets under city law.

Beckmann said she would continue to monitor the truck parking situation.

The district manager also offered the board an update on various other issues pertaining to the neighborhoods the board represents, Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights.

BUS PADS: The city is installing bus pads on the roadway at the S79 Select Bus stop on Fourth Avenue and 86th Street, Beckmann said.

The work, which is taking place on Fourth Avenue between 86th and 87th streets, “is being done on overnight hours,” Beckmann told the board.

Bus pads are concrete surfaces built on top of asphalt roadways at bus stop.

SCHOOL ROOF REPAIRS: A repair project at McKinley Intermediate School has generated complaints from residents living within the vicinity of the school, according to Beckmann. “We received several odor complaints from neighbors,” she said.

Beckmann said she contacted the School Construction Authority to inform the agency of the situation.

SWIMMING POOL CLOSED: The Fort Hamilton High School swimming pool is currently closed for repairs, she reported. “It is our understanding that repairs have been extended and I will apprise you as I receive an update,” she told the board.

The school, located at 8301 Shore Road, has an indoor pool named after Thomas Greene, a retired assistant principal.

ZONING COMMITTEE: The board’s Zoning and Land Use Committee, which recently took an in-depth look at northern Dyker Heights amid changes in that community, is now turning its attention to studying a plan by the city to change zoning regulations governing driveways installed in front of residential properties.

“The district officer receives regular calls about front gardens cemented over for parking pads or simply just for maintenance reasons. I encourage neighbors to certainly continue to reach out and look forward to the committee’s work on this important topic,” Beckmann told the board.

DYKER CHRISTMAS LIGHTS: Beckmann expressed disappointment with a decision by the city to reject a request to grant a street activity permit for the Dyker Heights Christmas Lights display. 

“The goal of filing for the street event permit was to address concerns raised by local residents associated with the booming tourism and visitors viewing the lights,” Beckmann told the Brooklyn Eagle. 

Thousands of tourists come to Dyker Heights every year to see the elaborate lights and decorations put up by homeowners. 

“The goal of the street event permit was to provide a structure to this very organic event.  We approached this like any other local event that has a permit. For example Summer Stroll has hours of operation and rules restricting vendors, issuance of regulations pertaining to outdoor sale of alcohol, limited sound permitted areas and patrol coverage at every street corner,” Beckmann said, referring to the Summer Stroll on 3rd event held each year on Third Avenue. 

“Without a street event permit, resources will be limited to the 68th Precinct and some personnel from Patrol Borough Brooklyn South, within the availability of resources. NYPD has informed us that they will maintain a drop off site for tour buses. It is our understanding that vending cannot be restricted without a permit, as long as vendors are licensed and within legal areas to vend. We also feel it will be difficult to obtain adequate traffic control and enforcement without a street event permit,” Beckmann told the Eagle.

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