Residents near a Van Nest body shop say it has created unrest in the community by causing parking and sanitation problems. 

 

Gabaon Body Shop is located at the corner of Bronx River Avenue and Rosedale Avenue. Community advocate Lyssy Pastrana says residents have reached out to her for help because the shop has customer cars parked throughout the streets and sidewalks. Pastrana says neighbors are afraid to speak up on their own out of fear of retaliation. 

 

News 12 spoke to Jose, an employee at the Gabaon Body Shop, who says they're waiting for customers to pick up their cars and that many can't afford to.

 

DSNY says that, according to state law, cars can only be towed if they meet three requirements: Have no license plates, have significant damage that would give them an approximate value of less than $1,250 dollars and go unclaimed after tagged.

 

DSNY says that they visited the site and found several cars with no license plates. They say they tagged six vehicles that if unclaimed by Wednesday will be towed away and recycled.

 

For vehicles that did not meet the criteria, DSNY says they are working with the NYPD on next steps.

 

DSNY also says they spoke to the body shop manager and informed him that it's against the law to have cars parked on the street without plates.

News 12 reached out to the NYPD who said they are aware of the situation and are planning a joint tow operation with DSNY.