They’re damned if they do, jammed if they don’t.
Dozens of Bay Ridgites living on 72nd Street between Third and Fourth avenues got tickets for parking in a bike lane during alternate-side parking on Aug. 11. The next week, they avoided the lane and parked in the middle of the street — leaving little room for drivers to pass and snarling traffic on the narrow block for hours, locals said.
Residents say they’ve been double-parking for alternate-side for decades without getting a ticket, and the sudden enforcement feels like a ploy to wring revenue from Ridgites.
“It seems like a deliberate and calculated way to get more tax money out of Bay Ridge residents,” said Debbie Kalakis, whose car was ticketed along with her husband’s. “We’ve been living here 30 years and there seemed to be an understanding that during alternate side, you can park your car on other side of street.”
The city never told people parking in the bike lane for the 90-minute street-sweeper window was such a taboo, another said.
“After they painted the bicycle lanes on the streets, they never educated the people in the community that you are not supposed to double-park on top of the bicycle lane,” said 72nd Street resident Farid Assad, who got slapped with a $115 ticket. “But this time, rather than educating people, the city goes and plays dirty like they normally do.”
But city officials say the residents should have known better.
“We informed the community of the changes and they approved it this spring,” a Department of Transportation spokeswoman said. “This is still considered double-parking.”
Double-parking is a ticketable offense, but the city typically looks the other way during alternate-side because there aren’t enough legal spots to house displaced cars, said Councilman Vincent Gentile (D–Bay Ridge). The lawmaker is writing letters to the Department of Finance asking it to toss the tickets, he said.
And avoiding the bike lane risks blocking the whole street, Kalakis said.
“This week people parked in the middle of the street, but the problem is if anybody doesn’t move his car then the street is totally blocked,” said Debbie Kalakis, whose car was ticketed along with her husband’s.
And that’s exactly what happened on Aug. 18, locals said.
“Traffic was backed up halfway from Third to Fourth Avenue,” said Assad. ”And then the horns started.”
Assad and his wife sprang into action, standing at the corner of 72nd Street and Third Avenue telling drivers not to come down the clogged thoroughfare — something that the city should have been on hand to do, he said.
“Why do we have to do that job?” Assad said. “That’s the city’s job.”
Locals have complained to the 68th Precinct, but traffic agents do not fall under the precinct’s purview, commanding officer Capt. Raymond Festino said. He’s passing the issue up the chain of command and seeking a resolution, he said.
