Locals are fed up with “abandoned” cars occupying parking spots along residential streets in East Tremont, with many pointing to nearby auto shops as the culprit behind this.
They say that some are even left there for days without being moved, causing locals to have to park blocks away from their homes.
“I feel like I'm just walking out into a junk field littered with tires, and I don't want to feel like I live in a junkyard,” said Sandra Batalla, a longtime resident of more than 30 years.
Batalla said she was once proud to raise her son in what she called her little penthouse along East Tremont and Taylor Avenue. But the retiree says things have changed, and that her once paradise of a neighborhood is turning into a junkyard.
“Why can't you make the city a little paradise?” she added. “Why do you think you deserve less.”
Sandra and other residents have filed numerous 311 reports, emails and complaints, noting more than 20 unmarked cars parked in residential areas at a single time, taking up valuable spots.
Many of the complaints have been “resolved” by the Department of Sanitation and NYPD.
DSNY said 15,000 abandoned cars have been taken off NYC streets since September, but residents say the problem persists.