NYPD does not respond to complaints from citizens about parking in the wrong place: how does this affect road safety

Disgruntled users of New York's 311 system have long suspected that the police don't give a damn about their illegal parking complaints. But they never had proof before, reports Street blog.

“I am informing you that we are not returning your calls,” an NYPD officer told Brooklyn resident Seth Friedman last week. He left many complaints to 311 about illegal parking in the Brooklyn area. "You're wasting our time on these stupid assignments."

A phone call from an officer confirmed a Fort Greene resident's worst suspicions about the 311 system. The NYPD is purposefully ignoring complaints of driver misconduct. By doing this, he encourages motorists to violate the rules of the road, endangering pedestrians and cyclists.

“It feels like the NYPD just doesn't want to do their job. And he doesn’t want to enforce the law,” Friedman said.

For several months, Friedman, 30, filed daily complaints with 311, mostly about cars parked illegally in non-stop and parking zones in his area. According to the applicant, the problem is particularly acute at the intersection of Willoughby Street and Fleet Place. There illegally parked cars block the view and make it dangerous to cross the street.

“I almost got hit a lot of times,” Friedman said.

The officers largely ignored his complaints and replied on addendum 311 that they had taken action or issued a subpoena. However, there are no corresponding agendas in the city databases.

“We have more important things to do—real criminal activity is going on,” Reid remarked to Friedman. We don't answer.

Reed explained that the topics of Friedman's complaints to 311 were not worthy of police attention. Some of these complaints, according to Reed, were about things that weren't really illegal.

Officers didn't need to issue tickets for cars illegally parked outside the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene offices at Willoughby and Fleet, he said. After all, the department that Reid erroneously calls the Department of Housing enforces the rules and solves problems with parking.

On the subject: New York reinstates full alternative parking rule

Friedman disputed Reed's words by providing photographs and screenshots. They proved that his 311 complaints documented actual violations of the city's traffic regulations. And the fact that the officer admitted deliberately ignoring the complaint drove Friedman into despair and demoralized the city government.

“Being harassed and harassed by an NYPD officer like this is completely unacceptable,” Friedman said. “It practically turned the 311 service into a completely useless tool for the city. It was made so that New Yorkers could report violations to the government. So that she can act more effectively. Not only is it not used to fix problems, but it is also an active tool of persecution.”

Officer Reed did not respond to a request for comment. The latest payroll data for the city shows only one NYPD officer with the last name Reid: Christopher M. Reed, a 14-year police veteran working in Brooklyn.

Asked for comment, an NYPD spokesman said, "The NYPD and the 88th Precinct will continue to answer and respond to all 311 calls."

The spokesman did not respond to questions about whether the agency allows employees to deliberately ignore complaints to 311.

Or it allows other city agencies to enforce parking regulations around their offices.

Ray Legendre, a spokesman for the city's Office of Technology and Innovation, which oversees 311, referred questions to the NYPD.

For nearly six months, Streetsblog has been asking the Office of Technology and Innovation for data on the results of 311 customer satisfaction surveys. But the office repeatedly delayed providing the records.

John Orcutt, a former city transportation department official, said the phone call between Reid and Friedman was not unexpected. He clarified the situation:

“Anyone who follows how 311 and the police responded to many of these calls knows that this is true.” But it's always good to get verbal confirmation from a primary source.