The city wrongfully towed a slew of cars on Prospect Park West after installing a bizarre “No Standing” sign that confused everyone — including parking cops who were deployed to maintain order on the world’s most-controversial roadway.
The signs in question reads, “No Standing, 8 am–10 pm, April to October” — and they were installed last month to prevent warm-weather standing in drop-off zones near the Ninth and 11th street entrances.
Traffic enforcement officers assumed the sign banned standing through October and have been towing cars since the first of the month. But the city now says that the restriction expires on Oct. 1 — and drivers are irked that they have to deal with towing expenses and hassles.
“It’s just weird,” said neighbor and driver Kathryn Krase. “It’s like, why October?”
A Department of Transportation spokeswoman said that the four-space strip near Ninth Street and the two-space zone at 11th Street were installed at the community’s request to create a speedy drop-off-pick-up area “during peak use of the park.”
It hasn’t gone quite so smoothly: Last week, The Brooklyn Paper witnessed at vehicle at the location being towed; Krase also watched a truck haul away a car parked directly under the sign; and at least two more were towed on Thursday.
Parking on the busy-but-scenic road became even harder after the city installed its controversial bike lane — a move that critics said should have made the Department of Transportation more sensitive the ramifications of its actions.
“Parking is one of the biggest problems in this neighborhood,” Krase said. “And this just calls attention to the fact that the city is not aware of how these things effect the community.”
