Police Cars Keep Blocking Hell's Kitchen Street, Board Complains

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — A Hell's Kitchen community board is again pushing the NYPD to stop parking its cars on the sidewalk near its neighborhood precinct, saying the vehicles make the street virtually impassable for many pedestrians, especially those with strollers or disabilities.

For years, residents have complained about the clogged sidewalks near the NYPD's Midtown North Precinct on West 54th Street. Now, with a new commanding officer in charge, members of Community Board 4 hope that the department will heed their calls.

"If your precinct acts like an occupying force on 54th Street, it will not engender trust with the community," member Dale Corvino said during Wednesday's CB4 transportation committee meeting.

In October, the board sent a letter to the commanding officers of three neighborhood precincts, asking for action on the sidewalk parking — as well as the removal of temporary barricades that began blocking streets around the city during last summer's protests, including near the Midtown North precinct.

The board never heard back, members said. Then, this month, the discussion reared up again thanks to a Jan. 17 tweet by resident Charlie Todd, whose photo of the blocked 54th Street sidewalk drew hundreds of likes and retweets.

"I have been complaining to the NYPD about this issue for over two years," Todd wrote in an email. "After years of my complaints seeming to fall on deaf ears, I decided to tweet a photo and complain more publicly."

Thumbs down to @NYPDMTN for continually making 54th Street inaccessible to strollers and wheelchairs by parking on the sidewalk despite many community complaints. cc: @Chekpeds, @dalecorvino, @ManhattanBoard4, @CoreyinNYC pic.twitter.com/lSzOZwyQrP
— Charlie Todd (@charlietodd) January 17, 2021

The obstructions also persist, members said, despite an internal memo sent to NYPD officers this month, reminding them not to park in areas reserved for pedestrians unless it is for "urgent or necessary police action."

Still, board members expressed hope Wednesday that things may finally change. At a Tuesday community council meeting, Midtown North commander Megan O'Malley agreed that the sidewalk parking was "not acceptable," according to member Christine Berthet.

O'Malley said the department has stuck to sidewalk parking because spots are so limited in the neighborhood, and also because NYPD vehicles are often vandalized when they are left far from the precinct, O'Malley said, according to members who were present.

Board members said they planned to set up another meeting with O'Malley, where they will urge her to clear the sidewalk and make way for pedestrians. Member Jeffrey LeFrancois said O'Malley appeared to recognize that the department's long-held practices had to change.

"She recognized that there were NYPD cultural issues at stake and that takes time to change them," he said.

Related coverage:

• Midtown Community Board To NYPD: Tear Down These Barricades
• Barricades Still Block Columbus Circle, 7 Months After Protests
• Battle Escalates Over NYPD's Midtown Street Barricades