The City Council passed a bill on Thursday afternoon that will create designated off-street parking for tractor-trailers, helping what some New Yorkers have called a ‘nightmare’ parking scene.
Council Member Justin Brannan says many of the streets and roads in his area of Bay Ridge resemble illegal parking lots. He says tractor-trailers and commercial trucks are illegally parking on the streets overnight, affecting local residents.
The bill, Intro 906-A, passed unanimously in City Council. It will require the city to identify one location per borough to create designated off-street parking for these vehicles by the end of 2023.
Brannan says that those truckers are not only taking up multiple parking spots that should be available to residents, but that they’re also rolling the dice on getting ticketed.
"You hear it all the time that these trucks are taking up legal spots from constituents,” said Brannan. "Creating regional locations where these truckers know that they can go and they can park legally and safely would really be a win."
Many residents say that the problem has grown significantly in recent years. City data from 2021 attributes this partly to the expansion of e-commerce – they say 80% of package deliveries are going to residential consumers.
The new policy won’t affect trucks that are loading but is strictly focused on trucks that are taking up parking overnight.