Fed up with out-of-state cars that hog parking spots for weeks at a time, a group of Queens residents have pledged to take matters into their own hands.
Members of the Woodhaven Residents Block Association will now track cars with non-New York plates and report them to their home states if they are parked in the same spot for extended periods of time.
"We started looking for outside-the-box solutions for some of the quality-of-life issues," said Edward Wendell, president of the association. "One resident said she hasn't been able to get a parking spot on her block for over a year."
It's unclear whether these vehicles belong to visitors or local residents who illegally register them in states such as Florida or Maryland where car insurance is cheaper.
Parking is at a premium in the densely populated neighborhood, where the streets are lined with single-family homes and Jamaica Ave. is a major shopping and commuting destination.
During a recent meeting of the block association, members were asked to air their top gripes about the neighborhood. They rattled off a list that included illegal dumping, illegal conversions and late-night house parties, Wendell said. But parking remained one of the biggest problems.
"This has been going on for a long, long time," said Maria Thompson of the Greater Woodhaven Development Corp. "We feel that if they park in New York streets, they should have New York license plates."
The block association is asking residents to contact them if they see a vehicle with out-of-state plates parked on the street for more than a month. They will contact the state's motor vehicle agency, via phone and mail, and ask them to investigate whether the vehicle is legally registered.
After a Daily News report revealed that the city was failing to collect millions of dollars from out-of-state vehicles racking up parking tickets, the Finance Department inked a deal last year to collect fines from vehicles registered in a dozen states.
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