Aug. 3, 2015 By Christian Murray
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer and a number of transportation-safety advocates are calling on the police to stop car dealerships from parking their vehicles on the sidewalk along Northern Boulevard.
The cars are a danger to pedestrians, Van Bramer said, since many people are often forced to walk on the heavily trafficked Boulevard in order to get to where they are going. This problem becomes even more perilous, he said, when school starts up again and children walk to school.
Van Bramer said that he has received many reports from constitutents who are concerned about the problem and that he continues to call on the 108th and 114th precincts to enforce the law.
On Tuesday, Van Bramer along with members of Transportation Alternatives, Make Queens Safer and local parents will be going on a walking tour throughout the Woodside portion of Northern Boulevard to highlight the abuse of the public parking regulations by the dealers and auto-body shops in the area.
“This has been an issue since as long as I have been a councilman—probably for decades,” Van Bramer said. He said that there is periodic enforcement but more needs to be done.
He said his goal is not to bring hardship to the dealerships—since they hire people and help the economy. However, he said, they should not be breaking the rules.
“They should be off the sidewalks and we are drawing attention to it,” Van Bramer said.
Walking Tour:
August 4, 10:30 am
Starts: Southeast corner at the intersection of Northern Blvd and 61st Street
