The city must get rolling to reel in all of the abandoned trucks and cars that have been plaguing the 63rd Precinct for years, and come up with a solution to solve the problem for good, say residents and local pols.
“I think this is such a widespread problem, not just my district,” said Councilman Alan Maisel (D–Marine Park), who penned a letter to the mayor last year asking the city to send in more heavy-duty tow trucks because the local precinct cannot handle hauling away all the large vehicles on its own. “They need to have a designated squad that’s going to be doing something about these cars. The precincts are doing what they can do with limited resources.”
The latest box truck — without license plates — popped up on E. 36th Street between Flatlands Avenue and Avenue M about a week ago, and hasn’t been moved since. It’s illegal to park any car on a residential street for more than seven days, and all commercial vehicles must be moved after three hours, according to the Department of Transportation.
The large four-wheeler displays an advertisement for “Dough Boy Deliveries” on its passenger-side door, but the New York Avenue address on it leads to a house in East Flatbush, records show, and the pizza delivery company told a nearby neighbor it wasn’t missing any trucks, said one Flatlands Avenue resident who is trying to get the truck removed.
The forgotten truck is likely stuffed with innocent bread, but it’s mysteriousness is worrying local residents who just want it gone — with all the recent bomb threats and attacks going on throughout the city and elsewhere, it’s hard to trust anything, said Michele who asked her last name not be used.
“It just makes me wary a lot, I try not to go near it. If it belongs to somebody, then it should have plates,” she said. “Everybody over here has been scared — too much stuff goes on now, so you never know.”
The 63rd Precinct only has the manpower to haul away big rigs and large trucks about twice a month since it takes nearly two hours to tow them to the city’s pound at the Navy Yard, so the puzzling Dough Boy truck is tentatively on the tow schedule for the end of the month or even early May, according to the neighbor, who says that’s way too long to wait.
The 63rd Precinct is aware of the truck and is monitoring it, said a police department spokesman.
