NYPD Won’t Touch Upper West Side Block Commandeered by Illegal Parking

A frustrated Upper West Side resident is looking to tame the rampant illegal parking and placard abuse on his block.

Carson Dixon says the curbs and sidewalks of W. 83rd Street between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues are lined constantly with illegally parked vehicles, left there by postal workers, firefighters, and employees of a parking garage.

Most of the vehicles parked in the street's no standing zones belong to employees of the Planetarium Station post office, and display "real and fake" placards, according to Dixon. "The south side of 83rd street was designated as [no standing] by DOT to allow the fire truck to get down the block when the street is backed up," he wrote in an email to Streetsblog. "The 'backed up' part happens a lot because Central Parking, with five exits/entrances on the block, can not and will not manage the car movements out of their garage. The chaos that ensues is unbelievable."

You can take a stroll on the block via Google Maps to see what Dixon is talking about.

Dixon has been in touch with DOT, FDNY, and the USPS. While postal workers use the street as their personal parking lot, they also leave USPS trucks straddled on the curb, or parked on the sidewalk. Dixon says a DOT staffer who visited the scene "is preparing a letter recommending that the Post Office stop this practice."

As for NYPD enforcement, says Dixon: "I had a discussion with a meter maid and a police officer from the 20th Precinct. The meter maid told me that 82nd to 84th street between Amsterdam and Columbus is off limits to them. They can only write tickets in the alternate side zones, and not anywhere else in those areas. The officer I spoke to told me they stay away from those streets because it is a clusterf***. So, in essence, there you have it, nothing ever gets done."