March 24, 2007: Vol. 30, No. 12

Finding a parking spot is never easy in Brooklyn, but one unfortunate block of Bensonhurst residents has been facing a “perfect storm” of parking perils.

“Everyone on our block is upset,” said resident Kelly Guerrieri. “I would think the parking situation on the block was a joke, if I wasn’t the one who had to live it.”

No joke, but it is a little confusing.

First, residents who live on 66th Street between 12th and 13th avenues have four fire hydrants and nine residential driveways to deal with. Add to that a bus stop on the southern side of 13th Avenue between 66th and 67th streets, where parking is restricted from 7 am to 4 pm, and residents are left feeling like they are getting the squeeze.

But that was a virtual parking paradise before what happened next.

In February, a new bus stop appeared on the block to accommodate the 72 students attending a disabled children’s school. The bus stop also restricts parking from 7 am-4 pm.

“As a teacher myself, I obviously have nothing against children getting to school,” Guerrieri said. “But at what point is enough enough? I wish someone could tell me why the bus once comes once in the morning and once in the afternoon, but parking is prohibited all day long?”

Guerrieri and several residents of the beleaguered block took the issue of the rogue bus stops to Community Board 10 last week, but their plight was met with little sympathy.

CB10 District Manager Josephine Beckmann said she checked and found that the new bus stop was legit.

“They were properly registered at the request of the school’s principal,” Beckmann said.

After striking out at the community board, residents said they would seek help from local pols, especially since at least one resident may not be able to afford the current parking predicament much longer.

“I have gotten over $460 in parking violations trying to stay within all these rules,” said resident Rick Fetzke. “I am not sure anyone really understands how much this affects our lives.”

Tickets weren’t the only headache.

“This situation is trying the patience of everyone on our block,” said Guerrieri. “Last Wednesday, one resident smashed another’s head into a windshield over a open parking spot.”

Tickets, smashed heads. Well, at least it can’t get much worse, right? Wrong.

“They are building a new condo on the block,” said resident Patricia DaPice. “We are going to make room for a lot more cars on our block in the very near future.”

©2007 The Brooklyn Paper