Streetsblog Gets Action: That Derelict Car in Harlem Has Finally Been Removed

Going...

Going...

Gone.

The junked car that had been sitting in front of a Harlem Assembly member's office for more than two weeks has finally been removed by the Sanitation Department two days after Streetsblog wrote up the car and its saga in these pages.

"You guys are better than 'Help me, Howard,'" said Wendy Frank, a Harlem resident who reported the abandoned car to the 32nd Precinct in late December.

Frank is now hoping that city officials can address several other derelict cars, just to the north of the junked Mercedes, which had been sitting in front of Assembly Member Al Taylor's office. She's reported those cars, too, and is just waiting for action.

Some of those vehicles are "derelict," meaning they don't have plates and have substantial damage. Others are "abandoned," meaning they still have license plates and appear to be operable, but have been reported as sitting on the streets for longer than a month. Abandoned cars are handled by NYPD. Derelict cars are handled by DSNY or one of its contractor, such as Allied.

We'll keep you posted.