Denise Romero says she has a hard time backing out of her driveway because her neighbors park their cars their vehicles on the narrow street.
My problem is with neighbors who live across the street from me. The family has four cars and park three of them in the street. One car is parked directly across from my driveway, which makes it hard for me to pull out. This is a curved and narrow residential street that accommodates only two lanes of traffic, not parked cars. This is why we have driveways and garages. Are there any laws or rules of etiquette that could be enforced?
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Everyone with a legal driver’s license knows you can’t block a hydrant or a driveway, and there are local ordinances that restrict overnight parking on some streets. But Nassau’s Third Precinct Police say there are no laws requiring homeowners to keep their cars off the street, regardless of how narrow or difficult to navigate the street may be.
“This is an increasing problem on Long Island,” said Officer Nick Mosesso, with the precinct’s problem-oriented policing unit. “Years ago, a lot of families had only one car. Now that each family has multiple cars, they’re more inclined to park in the street to avoid blocking each other in the driveway and moving cars around every five minutes.”
According to Mosesso, there are only two main restrictions with regard to parking on residential roads in the area covered by the Third Precinct: 1) no commercial parking after 10 p.m. 2) no parking in front of fire hydrants or sidewalk and driveway aprons.
One tip, Moesesso said, is for drivers to let oncoming traffic pass before trying to “squeeze through” a funnel of parked cars.
“Also, if you have a good enough rapport with your neighbors, politely ask them to use their driveway,” he said. “It’s the best solution.”
In the Romero’s case, however, the nice-guy approach hasn’t worked.
“We wrote them a letter, which was ignored,” Romero said. “I guess we’re out of luck.”
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