Parking problems persist for Queens residents living near JFK Airport
NEW YORK -- There is an update on a parking problem in a Queens neighborhood.
People living close to John F. Kennedy International Airport in South Ozone Park say they struggle to find spots to park, especially during holiday weekends.
CBS New York first reported on this issue last June. Reporter Lisa Rozner spoke to area residents on Sunday.
On 152nd Avenue, some residents put out cones to hold a spot for themselves.
"As soon as I move my car from here, if I have to go out, all of a sudden somebody's parking over there," resident Nelson Perez said.
Some residents say during holidays, like Presidents Day weekend, they can't find any parking in their neighborhood due to people using it as an extended, unofficial parking lot for JFK.
One neighbor, who asked that she not be identified, called ARB Parking to ask the attendants to move customers' vehicles that she says they park on the streets, allegedly when the lot gets full.
"I called them and I said, 'I need a spot. Come and move a car,' and they have to find it," the woman said, adding when asked if that was a satisfactory answer, "No, it's not, because sometimes I wait half an hour for them to do it when they feel like, you know?"
"Sometimes I got to go over there and fight with them to move a car for me to get a spot, which is not right," resident George Chowte said.
The lot offers shuttle service to JFK, but a manager told Rozner by phone that only a few of the cars parked on the street are theirs.
When Rozner saw employees go into the neighborhood with a bin of keys, they also said it's only a few cars.
"You have the keys in the bin to retrieve cars from the...?" Rozner asked.
"We're moving all the cars. Yeah, we're moving in three, four hours," an employee said.
They said customers in a hurry to catch a flight park the cars on the street and then hand them the keys to bring their vehicle into the lot.
"So they're paying you to retrieve their cars from the street?" Rozner asked.
"Because they do not want to miss their flight," the employee said. "So after that, we will move."
"Your quality of life is to come home, find a parking spot, go in. You don't want to drive around for hours because a business is abusing the situation," said Sam Esposito, president of the Ozone Park Residents Block Association. "We're going to send out a letter of notice to the elected officials."
Late Sunday night, CBS New York reached Eddy Rich, the manager for ARB Parking, by phone and he told us the cars being moved on the streets belong to the employees and that the lot has 600 spaces.
"This is not our cars because if you check, if you come to the parking lot, I can show you, each car have the tag. The tag where we put it right on the cars and the outside, have you seen any tag? No. This is not our cars. But for all the customers, we always park inside," Rich said.
He said when the lot is at capacity, customers are turned away.
