Metropolis drivers have been slapped with a report variety of tickets final yr for illegally utilizing site visitors cones to attain coveted parking spots — however even their critics say the scofflaws deserve some sympathy.
The Sanitation Division dished out 533 traffic-cone-obstruction violations in 2025 after an equally record-setting 7,208 complaints have been made about them to 311, in accordance with a Publish evaluation of metropolis information.
Final yr’s greater than 530 cone-related summonses — issued primarily in Queens — represented a virtually 6% enhance from 2024, when 470 have been doled out, an virtually 100% leap from the 287 in 2023 and a few 900% hike from the 60 in 2022.
The parking difficulty grew to become so heated final yr {that a} mom and daughter attacked a university scholar over a parking spot “reserved” by a neighbor with a rubbish can within the Ridgewood part — an assault caught on viral video.
“Individuals will park anyplace,” griped Rob Ennis, a 51-year-old resident of Glendale, Queens.
“The folks subsequent to me, they put out orange cones in locations they shouldn’t. I needed to struggle with [other drivers] about it as a result of they have been taking on authorized spots.”
A 42-year-old Ridgewood resident named JM stated he’s heard of handicap walkers getting used to order native spots — and has thought-about placing out cones himself.
“I’ve seen [cones] about 4 instances elsewhere, and I take them and transfer them,” he stated.
Nonetheless, “it’s normally an hour to discover a parking spot,” JM stated.
“Typically I’ve no selection and have to depart it in entrance of a hearth hydrant,” he stated of his automobile. “I’ve lived right here 30 years, and up to now 10 years, it’s turn out to be overcrowded.”
Queens represented greater than 70% of the town’s traffic-cone violations issued in 2025, with 380 summonses handed on the market. Out of 1,376 summonses issued throughout the Large Apple since 2020, 1,000 got out in Queens, information present.
Queens Councilwoman Joann Ariola has blamed lax enforcement and restricted area — with spots wolfed by bike lanes and parking guidelines — on the rise in unlawful parking.
“It’s been occurring for years,” stated a 21-year-old Queens driver, Alex, of the cone-saving scofflaws.
However he stated he’s sympathetic to the regulation violators.
“It’s so onerous to park round right here,” he stated, “I perceive folks utilizing cones to save lots of parking spots.”
Native plumber Flori Kasa, 33, stated she simply takes issues into her personal arms.
“I transfer them, that’s it,” Kasa stated whereas parking a automobile on Forest Avenue in Ridgewood.
“No one will get to take a spot with cones. I pay taxes. I don’t blame folks for placing out cones, nevertheless it’s onerous for me to park,” Kasa stated.
The Queens resident recalled one confrontation she had with a lady standing in a parking spot to order it.
“She stated she was saving it. I stated, ‘No, you’re not, I’m going to park there.’ I wouldn’t transfer, she wouldn’t transfer. I stayed there one hour — [and] I bought the spot.”
Sanitation reps instructed The Publish that site visitors cones positioned on the sidewalk or road are thought-about an unlawful obstruction and subsequently warrant administrative summonses with fines of as much as $200 for repeat offenders.
However whereas greater than 25,000 cone-related complaints have been made to 311 since 2020, violations have been issued simply over 5% of the time, The Publish’s evaluation discovered.
“To ensure that us to difficulty a summons for this, the proprietor of the cones has to acknowledge that the cones are theirs,” a Sanitation Division rep stated.
“We do examine complaints for this by visiting the house and talking with the house owner. In the event that they declare possession of the cones, we’ll difficulty a summons for road obstruction. … If they don’t declare the cones as their very own, we’ll merely take them away.”
