Truck parking crackdown in NYC ‘not about going after an industry’

With officials in New York City cracking down on illegally parked commercial vehicles in residential areas, the Trucking Association of New York is saying drivers simply have nowhere to park.

On Aug. 15, at the request of Mayor Eric Adams, the New York Police Department began conducting operation “Heavy Duty Enforcement.” The operation targets illegally parked commercial vehicles in neighborhoods of southern Queens. Mayor Adams says the crackdown isn’t intended to “go after” the trucking industry.

“If you park commercial vehicles illegally, you will get ticketed, towed or given the boot,” Adams said in a statement. “For far too long, large commercial vehicles have been parking illegally in this neighborhood, disrupting daily life, and contributing to noise, traffic, and pollution. We cannot let our neighborhood streets turn into illegal parking lots. I want every New Yorker to know your city is looking out for you and your quality of life.”

The enforcement action – which spans several NYPD commands, bureaus, and city agencies – consists of three teams utilizing heavy tow operations, booting, and summonsing enforcement. According to officials, NYPD issued 597 summonses, attached 89-wheel clamps, and towed 55 illegally parked vehicles to a temporary storage facility during the first five days of the operation.

“This has been a problem,” Adams said in a video posted to his Twitter account. “It’s not about going after an industry. It’s about having an industry not go after a community. This is a quality-of-life issue. We want to resolve this issue. We’ve heard about it for years.”

New York City parking rules state that large commercial vehicles are prohibited from parking on residential streets overnight between the hours of 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., seven days a week. However, Kendra Hems, president of the Trucking Association of New York, says truckers in the Empire State are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

“While we in no way condone parking on residential streets where it is illegal to do so, we feel it is imperative to understand that we cannot ticket our way out of this problem,” Hems said in a statement. “Heavy enforcement alone has not worked in the past and will not work now absent available commercial vehicle parking. The reality is that drivers, many of them our neighbors, family and friends, simply have nowhere to park. This is not their personal vehicle but the vehicle that embodies their livelihood and provides for their family.”

Hems said the issue is actually a symptom of a bigger problem, one that is all too familiar to many truckers. She says that city leaders should be doing more to remedy the truck parking issues.

“This is why the city must address the underlying issue of inadequate truck parking in all five boroughs,” she said. “The industry is taking steps, but we cannot do this alone. We need our partners in government to dedicate the time and resources to resolve this problem. The industry must be part of this process, and we are eager to work with this administration to finally find meaningful, long-term solutions that benefit all New Yorkers, drivers included.”

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has worked for years to address the national truck parking shortage. In February, the Association sent a joint letter to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg urging the U.S. DOT to take action to address the nationwide truck parking shortage.

“Truck drivers are the lifeblood of the trucking industry and the backbone of the supply chain, but the shortage of truck parking belies the essential nature of their work,” the letter read. “Truck drivers consistently rank truck parking availability as a top industry concern in annual driver surveys, yet little has been done to address this challenge.” LL