The 104th Precinct recently conducted a Truck Enforcement Operation that stalled about 80 law-breaking vehicles.
The precinct directed the program within neighborhoods it oversees — Middle Village, Maspeth, Ridgewood and Glendale. Some streets in these areas are notorious for truck traffic, such as Grand Avenue in Maspeth, where local civic leaders and elected officials have been fighting to reduce law-breaking truckers that try to avoid delays on the Long Island Expressway and cruise down residential streets.
“I am grateful to Captain [Christopher] Manson and the 104th Precinct for the recent effort at enforcing illegal truck activity,” said Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley. “Working together, we have made great strides at reducing truck traffic in Maspeth, and we need to continue keeping this as a priority.”
The operation was conducted from August 6 to 9 because of the rise in truck accidents from July 8 to August 4. During that time 36 truck accidents were recorded by the precinct, which is double when compared with the same period last year.
Representatives of the precinct didn’t know what the cause of the rise was, but said that the majority of the accidents involved minor property damage.
“We don’t know when and how [accidents] are going to occur,” said Detective Thomas Bell, Community Affairs Officer. “We wish there were no accidents.”
Police officers were told to focus the operation on “corridors commonly used by trucks that are not designated as truck routes.”
Cops issued 50 summonses for rigs that were driving off truck routes and 14 violations for drivers who were in areas that didn’t comply with where their deliveries were listed. Eight operators received summonses for driving without a license and one was issued a summons for driving without a seat belt.
“I’m glad that they are being vigilant about it,” said Roe Daraio, president of Communities of Maspeth and Elmhurst Together (COMET), which organized a rally in Maspeth against the influx of trucks in community streets a few months ago.
During that rally, which lasted about an hour-and-a-half, more than 250 tractor trailers of varying sizes rolled up and down Grand and Flushing avenues, an intersection that is restricted to only trucks with local deliveries.
“The enforcement helps,” said Daraio. “It will deter some of them from coming in here.”
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