Disturbing and dismaying: a truck wrongly parked, unconcerned traffic agents, and a confrontation with a citizen documentarian

A troubling incident was detailed by Atlantic Yards neighbor Peter Krashes in a post on Atlantic Yards Watch Aug. 18.

"A Posillico Tully truck was standing/parked in a no standing zone on South Portland Avenue below Atlantic Terrace waiting to enter the Atlantic Avenue work area this morning," he wrote. 

"Specifically, the truck was located on the northeast corner of the Atlantic Avenue/South Portland intersection pointed in the direction of the traffic. South Portland is not a legal truck route and is not included in the truck protocols as a truck route, so the truck was not only parked illegally it was on an illegal route. It was standing/parked right below a residential condominium complex."

Indeed, it is not a truck route. See Rail Yard Truck Protocols.

Not much help

However, two NYPD traffic agents at the other side of South Portland at the Atlantic Center mall took no action. Indeed, both the truck driver and traffic agents told Krashes the truck was going to "back across the Atlantic Avenue intersection into the work area adjacent to the arena. Based on the conversation, it sounded to me like a normal practice. The traffic agents asked how else trucks are to enter the site."

Truck Routes omit South Portland, which is above the western third of the project site.

That's certainly questionable, because, as Krashes noted, no such maneuver is in the protocols.

Nor did the traffic agents take action, as the truck seemed illegally standing/parked in a "no standing zone." 

A confrontation

Then things got interesting.

"I attempted to document the truck in its location, and leave promptly," Krashes wrote. "One of the traffic agents stopped me and asked me what I was doing. The truck driver then left his truck, crossed the street, and started cursing me. Instead of letting me move away, the traffic agents continued to engage me and asked me what my problem was. At least one of the agents laughed at the truck driver's profanity and appeared to egg the driver on. The truck driver stated I had photographed his truck before. In no way did I want to engage the driver. "

He was unable to file a 311 complaint about the truck, but because the condition was not existing by the time he could call, he couldn't do so. He did file a 311 complaint regarding the traffic agents