Forum Photo by Patricia Adams
Lined up along 151st Ave near 78th street for over two and a half years more than three dozen abandoned cars forced residents to park blocks away from their homes.
You gotta have park(ing).
But for the last two-and-a-half years, Lindenwood residents on 78th and 79th streets between 151st and 153rd avenues say they have been without the opportunity to get a spot anywhere near their homes. Nor have they gotten any cooperation from anyone they reached out to for help.
“We’ve called everyone you can think of: the Department of Sanitation, our elected officials, the police, it just didn’t matter—until we called The Forum,” said Frank, who asked that his last name be omitted. “In less than two weeks since we called, the majority of the cars have been removed.”
After a concerned resident called the newspaper to report a total of almost four-dozen cars left along the streets without license plates, registrations, or inspection stickers. The vehicles, the caller reported, had been dumped there in the middle of the night and left for years. Some of them actually had weeds growing into the open windows.
Despite all efforts to trace the origination of the dumped vehicles, residents’ frustration continued to grow as they found themselves having to park three or four blocks away from their homes.
After an inspection of the scene, The Forum reached out to Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic Association President Joann Ariola to apprise her of the situation. She immediately contacted the Neighborhood Coordination Officers at the 106th Precinct to ask what could be done about the situation.
That’s when NCO’s Pete Paese and Michael Petrizzo sprung into action, seeing to it that the abandoned cars were tagged for removal the very next day.
“The Civic would like to thank The Forum for always going the extra step as a real community newspaper, putting the community and the residents first. That in combination with quick action from NC Officers Paese and Petrizzo got the job done and has made many of our residents very happy. ” Ariola said. “This is a clear example of what happens when the right people work together for the good of our community.”
If you would like to contact NCO’s here’s how: Peter.Paese@nypd.org and Michael.Petrizzo @nypd.org
