How many NYPD Traffic Cops does it take to tow a car?
Three. And even then it took over an hour.
What a complete and utter waste of city resources. This car was parked in front of a pedestrian crosswalk, and the city always tows these cars away. This morning, however, they couldn't figure out how to disengage the parking brake on this VW wagon.
A second tow truck was called.
A resident comes out to ask them why they're wasting their time (and our tax money).
A THIRD tow truck arrives. (Bottom right corner)
The hood is popped as they attempt to disable the car alarm.
They drag the car a few feet, with the rear wheels still locked. That can't be good for the car....
Sanitation trucks are blocked as they attempt to assemble a mechanism to lift the back of the car off the ground onto separate wheels.
Over an hour later, having squandered city resources, the car is finally towed, freeing the non-existent line of wheelchair-bound citizens to cross the street more easily.
Of course, there's no traffic cops to be found when people block the box on Flatbush Ave intersections. None to be found when cars run red lights and hit pedestrians on Vanderbuilt Ave. Nobody present when cars fly down Sterling at excessive speeds. No police available when car parties go on late into the night and drug deals are happening on our block.
But at least the f*cking pedestrians can cross at the crosswalk.
I've filed a complaint with 311, and I'd encourage others to do so as well. The tow truck numbers from this morning are: 6815, 6831, and 6862. Tell the city that the Traffic Enforcement team should spend their time dealing with the damn traffic.
Damn! Can they damage the car doing what they did? _________________ I believe in peace, bitch.
King without a crown Ninja
Joined: 05 Sep 2006 Posts: 868
Tue Apr 24, 07 9:37 pm EST
I'd encourage you to get a hobby!
Carnivore Brooklyn Snark
Joined: 14 Apr 2005 Posts: 13566 Location: St Johns Pl and Underhill
Tue Apr 24, 07 9:45 pm EST
King without a crown wrote:
I'd encourage you to get a hobby!
Such as harassing people on a message board when they have legitimate complaints about the incompetence of the NYPD?
alafairnadia radical quellist
Joined: 08 Aug 2005 Posts: 8272 Location: not washington ave. btwn sterling & st. johns
Tue Apr 24, 07 9:47 pm EST
Carnivore wrote:
King without a crown wrote:
I'd encourage you to get a hobby!
Such as harassing people on a message board when they have legitimate complaints about the incompetence of the NYPD?
I agree. I've seen a single tow truck pull one car out of a parallel parking space. many times. three? wtf?? waste of time and money. _________________ like a smoked meat with an earthy youth overnote
ParadeRest "Anonymous Guest"
Joined: 11 Sep 2006 Posts: 498 Location: Park Place Shuttle
Wed Apr 25, 07 12:54 am EST
Cars with all wheel drive often require a different method of towing which is much more difficult.
Carnivore Brooklyn Snark
Joined: 14 Apr 2005 Posts: 13566 Location: St Johns Pl and Underhill
Wed Apr 25, 07 8:10 am EST
ParadeRest wrote:
Cars with all wheel drive often require a different method of towing which is much more difficult.
Does that method require 3 tow trucks?
44ButlerPl Newbie
Joined: 24 Apr 2007 Posts: 3
Wed Apr 25, 07 9:31 am EST
doublediamond wrote:
Damn! Can they damage the car doing what they did?
Initially, that's what I was most worried about. Cars aren't cheap, and these guys really don't care about your car. They were inside and out, pulling things out trying to figure out how to release the rear wheels.
...ack!
izisharp Insider
Joined: 02 Oct 2006 Posts: 358 Location: Washington Ave
Thu Apr 26, 07 5:34 pm EST
How many NYPD Traffic Cops does it take to tow a car? for POSTING OF THE YEAR!!! Elements of play-by-play... accompanying photographs....a hint of investigative journalism.... and a strong political statement about the use of public resources and our tax dollars. Not to mention hilarious. Well done, 44ButlerPl
ParadeRest "Anonymous Guest"
Joined: 11 Sep 2006 Posts: 498 Location: Park Place Shuttle
Thu Apr 26, 07 9:01 pm EST
Actually...the best part of this thread is the fact that the people in the photo aren't cops at all. They are either traffic agents or MVO's. A far cry from a cop.
doctorj Abstruse Goose
Joined: 09 Apr 2006 Posts: 2509 Location: Underbilt btwn Carwash and Parking Pl.
Thu Apr 26, 07 9:09 pm EST
ParadeRest wrote:
Actually...the best part of this thread is the fact that the people in the photo aren't cops at all. They are either traffic agents or MVO's. A far cry from a cop.
So we know what we're spending: how do their salaries and benefits stack up against those of the cops that they're a far cry from? _________________ The world will little note nor long remember what we say here. -- Abraham Lincoln
dailyheights Honorary Fellow
Joined: 17 Jan 2005 Posts: 3619 Location: Prospect Heights State of Mind
Fri Apr 27, 07 12:25 am EST
THAT SPOT!! ... That spot...
That pedestrian crosswalk has to be one of the Top 10 towing-revenue boondoggles in all of Brooklyn. It is virtually invisible, and people park there ALL the time. It's like shooting fish in a barrel.
I'm pretty sure that a few years ago, one of the residents of that block tried to paint it once to call attention to it. I can't tell from the photos whether the marking is still very visible.
...or wait, is that the crosswalk I'm thinking of, 3 cars down? I'm confused. 44 says the car's blocking a crosswalk, right? _________________ HOT BOARD | NEW YORK'S BEST THREADS
4 BLOCKS BACK - http://twitter.com/brooklynian
Last edited by dailyheights on Fri Apr 27, 07 8:57 am; edited 1 time in total
LeeHo Sensationalist
Joined: 28 Aug 2006 Posts: 593 Location: Brevoort Pl.
Fri Apr 27, 07 12:32 am EST
Excellent Work. Butler 44. Accolades to you. Seriously, a job well done. Now, if only we could get some of that video footage that exists of Mohammed getting beat down as well! That would be a great composite piece to this photo essay. _________________ The best of men aren't at their "best" at all times.
steve Cylon
Joined: 17 Nov 2005 Posts: 1263
Fri Apr 27, 07 7:36 am EST
dailyheights wrote:
THAT SPOT!! ... That spot...
That pedestrian crosswalk has to be one of the Top 10 towing-revenue boondoggles in all of Brooklyn. It is virtually invisible, and people park there ALL the time. It's like shooting fish in a barrel.
I'm pretty sure that a few years ago, one of the residents of that block tried to paint it once to call attention to the city's little cash cow. I can't tell from the photos whether the marking is still very visible.
...or wait, is that the crosswalk I'm thinking of, 3 cars down? I'm confused. 44 says the car's blocking a crosswalk, right?
It looks like there's a fire hydrant there as well... _________________ For The Love Of Paris, Don't Go To The Lounge!
Yup, indeed there is a hydrant. And that VW looked like it was parked pretty close to it, less than the min of 15ft. The towing is justified. Although I'm not sure why it takes the whole Traffic Battalion to do it. _________________ I'm a Chain Belt...that's called the "quart of blood" technique. You do that, a quart of blood will drop out of a man's body.
LeeHo Sensationalist
Joined: 28 Aug 2006 Posts: 593 Location: Brevoort Pl.
Fri Apr 27, 07 10:39 am EST
Actually, the car looks legally parked in the initial photo before the cops started pulling it away. _________________ The best of men aren't at their "best" at all times.
izisharp Insider
Joined: 02 Oct 2006 Posts: 358 Location: Washington Ave
Fri Apr 27, 07 11:06 am EST
and 44ButlerPl, what a great skyline view you have. Let me know if you plan to move out.
doctorj Abstruse Goose
Joined: 09 Apr 2006 Posts: 2509 Location: Underbilt btwn Carwash and Parking Pl.
Fri Apr 27, 07 11:59 am EST
izisharp wrote:
and 44ButlerPl, what a great skyline view you have. Let me know if you plan to move out.
Isn't that those $600-$650/psf condos with boxy little bedrooms? Nice roofdeck and view, but I wasn't tempted overall. They turn up on the market semi-regularly, but probably not to rent. _________________ The world will little note nor long remember what we say here. -- Abraham Lincoln
SunsetAngel Newbie
Joined: 27 Apr 2007 Posts: 2
Fri Apr 27, 07 8:43 pm EST
Hmm, Traffic agents are different from cops. 1) the salary 2)Their primary jobs is to issue parking summonses and tow illegally parked vehicles. That's the difference between two...
And it looks like the Agents were trying their best not to ruin the car, i'm sure if they did the captions under the picures wouldve said "look at these cops ruin this persons nice looking vw", and if they didn't move the car. The pictures would've said, look at this illegally parked vehicle blocked the pedestrian ramps from people with wheelchairs and mothers with baby carriages from crossing the street safely, where are the cops when we need them"
So are we ever happy? nope.
have a great day
44ButlerPl Newbie
Joined: 24 Apr 2007 Posts: 3
Sun Apr 29, 07 12:18 am EST
dailyheights wrote:
THAT SPOT!! ... That spot...
That pedestrian crosswalk has to be one of the Top 10 towing-revenue boondoggles in all of Brooklyn. It is virtually invisible, and people park there ALL the time. It's like shooting fish in a barrel.
...
...or wait, is that the crosswalk I'm thinking of, 3 cars down? I'm confused. 44 says the car's blocking a crosswalk, right?
So glad you all liked my post! Thanks for the compliments!
There's two spots, actually. The one I think you're talking about is visible in the third photo, and it was vacant at the time. There's another one closer to the hydrant, visible only in the last photo. They're both poorly marked with yellow paint on the curb.
'Nuther guy parked in front of the same crosswalk now. Residents near the spot have tried calling the city to complain, and someone even put orange cones out once, which the city promptly seized. So they've made it clear it's not about public safety...which I think we all knew to begin with!
xueling Regular
Joined: 11 Jan 2006 Posts: 92
Sun Apr 29, 07 7:49 pm EST
There used to be a sign posted on the tree warning motorists not to park there (put there by residents). Of course the traffic guys took it down b/c people actually started to realize they couldn't park there and away went the revenue! We watch them tow cars from that spot at least once a week.
davidb Newbie
Joined: 17 Jan 2007 Posts: 41 Location: Prospect/Brooklyn & New York
Sun Apr 29, 07 10:44 pm EST
Man this is a great post...only too bad you did not put the time stamp in on the photos you took - just to show the elapsed time and idiocy of the tow crew here. And I'll be strident - because if you look at the very first photo, you can see that the approximate duistance from the fire hydrant to the nose of the VW (Xueling - That had to be the offense - since that Money making crosswalk was not where the car was parked ) is at least three + concrete squares (including the tree box). Now granted that is not the 15 feet per the law as Idlewild stated, but who is kidding who - That 15 ft is selectively enforced at best.
iowagirl ballerina/astronaut
Joined: 03 Aug 2005 Posts: 200
Sun Apr 29, 07 11:29 pm EST
44ButlerPl wrote:
I've filed a complaint with 311, and I'd encourage others to do so as well. The tow truck numbers from this morning are: 6815, 6831, and 6862. Tell the city that the Traffic Enforcement team should spend their time dealing with the damn traffic.
Thanks for this. I'll call tomorrow.
To confirm what several other posters have written: The car was parked in the money-making spot; it was fifteen feet away from the fire hydrant. Residents of the street have painted the curb at both of the spots several times, and the curbs are currently bright yellow. Traffic agents take warning signs down from the tree and from the lamppost in order to trick people into parking there.
The ticket is $165 if you're lucky enough not to get towed. I warn people away from those spots when I can.
Neighbors have been complaining to each other about this for years, and we complained to 311, DOT and the NYPD about the fact that there is no crosswalk, and that the traffic agents rip our signs down. In April 2006, we wrote a letter to DOT explaining that we believed that they were violating the spirit, if not the letter, of the law; the City refused to do anything to make these ramps obvious, either to those who are being accommodated by the Americans with Disabilities Act (the reason the ramps were installed in the first place), or to unwary drivers (often with out-of-state plates). We urged DOT to either paint crosswalks or put up "tow-away" zone signs.
We received a response eleven months later, in March of this year. It says, essentially, "DOT is not required to paint crosswalks, so we're not gonna. Nyeah, yeah, nyeah."
They want the money too badly. We've all seen the tow trucks trolling the area hoping that cars are parked there. It's infuriating. It's probably time for a full letter-writing campaign if we want it to change.
I can help organize one after the first week in June if anyone wants to work on it.
filmlover44 Funk Soul Sister
Joined: 31 Dec 2006 Posts: 1185 Location: No Man's/Woman's Land
Mon Apr 30, 07 10:50 am EST
Wow, we have the same situation on Prospect Avenue. I accidentally parked in an "unmarked crosswalk". Luckily it was a long weekend and I wasn't towed. Lesson learned: If there is a corner across the street you can't park there even if there is not even a real ramp that the handicapped people can use. _________________ Ok, now I'm crazy. Another goal achieved.
EastOfFlatbush Newbie
Joined: 06 Nov 2005 Posts: 19
Tue May 01, 07 2:28 pm EST
44ButlerPl wrote:
doublediamond wrote:
Damn! Can they damage the car doing what they did?
Initially, that's what I was most worried about. Cars aren't cheap, and these guys really don't care about your car. They were inside and out, pulling things out trying to figure out how to release the rear wheels.
...ack!
Yeah, well, maybe the owner of the car should have parked it legally. I've seen cars in Brooklyn Heights parked in the corner fire zones half-destroyed by fire trucks trying to make the turn. No sympathy here.
Newbeginnings Regular
Joined: 12 Oct 2005 Posts: 59
Wed May 02, 07 10:34 am EST
EastOfFlatbush wrote:
44ButlerPl wrote:
doublediamond wrote:
Damn! Can they damage the car doing what they did?
Initially, that's what I was most worried about. Cars aren't cheap, and these guys really don't care about your car. They were inside and out, pulling things out trying to figure out how to release the rear wheels.
...ack!
Yeah, well, maybe the owner of the car should have parked it legally. I've seen cars in Brooklyn Heights parked in the corner fire zones half-destroyed by fire trucks trying to make the turn. No sympathy here.
I'm with you the owner should have parked in a legal spot. It kills me that we can criticize traffic agents and we don't know all of the facts as to why they showed up to tow that car. Someone (a neighbor) probably call to complain about the car.
homeowner "Way Too Incestial"
Joined: 20 Jan 2006 Posts: 2068 Location: Between a rock and a hard place
Wed May 02, 07 2:32 pm EST
Newbeginnings wrote:
EastOfFlatbush wrote:
44ButlerPl wrote:
doublediamond wrote:
Damn! Can they damage the car doing what they did?
Initially, that's what I was most worried about. Cars aren't cheap, and these guys really don't care about your car. They were inside and out, pulling things out trying to figure out how to release the rear wheels.
...ack!
Yeah, well, maybe the owner of the car should have parked it legally. I've seen cars in Brooklyn Heights parked in the corner fire zones half-destroyed by fire trucks trying to make the turn. No sympathy here.
I'm with you the owner should have parked in a legal spot. It kills me that we can criticize traffic agents and we don't know all of the facts as to why they showed up to tow that car. Someone (a neighbor) probably call to complain about the car.
I don't know that this is fair. The sidewalk on that side of the street extends all the way up with no breaks. A driver who was unfamiliar with the street wouldn't necessarily know that there was supposed to be a crosswalk there, especially since there isn't any sign indicating that cars driving up the block need to slow or yield for people in the crosswalk. This is different from fire zones, where there are always signs posted.
To my mind, the city needs to be a bit more dilligent about painting the crosswalks in. When you hear about city workers ripping down signs that indicate the spot is not legal, it makes one wonder exactly what the city intends here. Giving everyone the benefit of the doubt (perhaps a neighbor did call) it still isn't fair to have a crosswalk that is not clearly demarcated cost $165 to someone who may have no idea of its existance.
ETA: Also if you look at the pictures, when the original shots were taken, the fire hydrant was obscured by a garbage can. Its possible, the person didn't even realize there was a hydrant there.
Rose Ninja
Joined: 10 Nov 2005 Posts: 911 Location: South Slope
Wed May 02, 07 3:06 pm EST
And meanwhile in Park Slope there are always cars parked in the bus stops on 7th Avenue, forcing the bus to pick up passengers in the middle of the street, forcing traffic to cross the center line into oncoming traffic to get around the bus, etc. Those are the people who should be getting their cars towed. But it is quicker and easier for the city to go after the cars parked in the secret no-parking spots.
cronx Newbie
Joined: 07 May 2009 Posts: 1
Thu May 07, 09 10:03 am EST
My question is.. what legal authority do traffic "brownies" have to break and enter into your vehicle and confisciate any placards displayed on your dashboard and then have the audacity to tow away your vehicle? And on top of that issue you a ticket for parking illegally
jeffrey blimp collector
Joined: 15 Feb 2007 Posts: 3444 Location: Prospect Lefferts Gardens
Thu May 07, 09 11:16 am EST
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