By Matthew Monks
Cops began fixing commercial trucks in June with yellow immobilization devices, or boots, after a slew of residents complained about tractor trailers parking on the highway exit and side streets, said Capt. Scott Shanley, commander of the 104th.
Shanley, who promised to make quality-of-life issues his top concern when he took command in May, said he launched the boot campaign after parking tickets failed to deter the interstate truckers.
At a recent Juniper Park Civic Association meeting, the captain said they could not ignore a wheel boot, which police remove only after the offender has paid a $185 fine.
“You put a boot on him – he's out of work for the day,” Shanley said. The precinct wants to “take them out of service a couple of days till they get the message,” he said.
And apparently they have, said Manny Caruana, a Maspeth resident who regularly griped to police about trucks parked near his 57th Drive home.
Before the campaign, he was seeing as many as five trucks a night. Since police booted three out-of-state trucks on Borden Avenue and Mazeau Street, he said he has not seen a truck idling overnight for weeks.
“It has worked wonders,” Caruana said. “That stuff gets out very quickly on CB (radio).”
That is just what police want, said 104th Community Affairs Officer Thomas Bell.
Police are fix and remove the devices, he said. Offenders pay their fine at an impound lot on Laurel Hill Boulevard and bring their receipt to the precinct in Ridgewood, where a specially trained officer is dispatched to remove the boot.
The process can take a day or two, Bell said, costing truckers time and money.
“Hopefully, word is getting out now,” he said.
The boot campaign is the second substantial quality-of-life initiative Shanley has launched during his two months in command. The precinct had confiscated about 50 motorized scooters and pocket bikes over four weeks in June during a crackdown on the noisy contraptions.
The success of both initiatives is earning Shanley high marks in the community.
“I take my hat off to him,” said City Councilman Dennis Gallagher (D-Middle Village). “He's doing an outstanding job and he's making quite an impression for the first couple of months.”
Reach reporter Matthew Monks by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
