Forum Photo by Michael V. Cusenza
Drivers post up on the side of the expressway all day and night.
By Michael V. Cusenza
One of South Queens’ most persistent—and perpetually dangerous—problems is highlighted by hazard lights.
At all hours of the day and night along a stretch of the eastbound Nassau Expressway between Howard Beach and John F. Kennedy International Airport you’ll find a visual symphony of blinking amber courtesy of dozens of private cars and for-hire autos idling roadside. For decades, witnesses have reported vehicles abruptly pulling out of their makeshift parking spots and into traffic, endangering drivers traveling along the thoroughfare.
And according to authorities, there seems to be no end in sight.
“Another thorn in my side,” an exasperated Deputy Inspector Brian Bohannon, commanding officer of the 106th Precinct, said recently at a meeting of the Howard Beach-Lindenwood Civic.
“It is a constant nuisance and we continue to issue summonses there,” Capt. Mike Edmonds, executive officer of the precinct, told The Forum this week. “We conduct initiatives each month; my whole traffic team is at the location for the whole day. [The City Department of Transportation] has signs posted stating ‘No Stopping,’ and people still disregard.”
Indeed, in the first five months of this year, 106th Precinct officers have handed out more than 150 summonses to drivers parked and waiting on the side of the expressway.
Still, it doesn’t seem to be enough. For all the cops’ efforts, nothing seems to deter the practice.
“Any suggestions would be appreciated,” Edmonds added, “but I don’t see a quick resolution other than constant monitoring and summonses.”
