Staten Island’s precincts are going head-to-head in a very New York kind of showdown: a bracket-style “March (Parking) Madness” that calls out where cops leave their cars and how often those cars get ticketed. Four commands – the 120th, 121st, 122nd and 123rd precincts – are under the microscope as locals vote on which one deserves the not-so-coveted title of worst parker.
According to Streetsblog New York City, the Final Four are the 120th in St. George, the 121st in Graniteville, the 122nd in Grant City and the 123rd in Tottenville. Reporters logged plates and curbside counts for dozens of squad and personal cars outside each stationhouse, then opened a public bracket where readers can vote through Wednesday. The project plugs into a larger, long-running fight over placard parking, sidewalk and bike-lane access, and whether NYPD facilities should be allowed to sprawl into the public right-of-way.
The 120th Precinct in St. George, fronting Richmond Terrace, lists Inspector Eric J. Waldhelm as commanding officer on the NYPD’s precinct page. According to the NYPD, the command covers much of the North Shore. The other Staten Island contenders include the Viñoly-designed 121st in Graniteville and the South Shore’s Grant City and Tottenville precincts, all of which Streetsblog examined for placard use and sidewalk-hogging habits.
What the Streets Audit Found
Streetsblog New York City reported that the 120th Precinct had about 40 personal vehicles clustered outside the stationhouse, and 38 of them had been nabbed by enforcement cameras. That worked out to roughly 10 camera citations per car on average. The outlet highlighted multiple repeat offenders, including vehicles with dozens of school-zone speeding tickets and several red-light violations, based on plate-tracking data. The result, it argued, is a curbside scene where the same drivers getting clocked by cameras are also the ones occupying public space in front of the precinct.
Design Makes A Difference
The 121st Precinct’s home base is a notable outlier in this contest. Designed by Rafael Viñoly, the stationhouse has a cantilevered profile, a LEED Silver rating and, crucially, a large on-site parking lot that cuts down on the need to spill onto nearby sidewalks. Rafael Viñoly Architects details the project’s early-2010s construction, awards and architectural features. Streetsblog pointed to that built-in parking supply as a key reason the 121st showed far fewer placard abuses and sidewalk incursions than its rivals across the borough.
Legal And Safety Stakes
The story is not just about neighborhood annoyance. On March 29, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a Letter of Findings that said its investigation “revealed violations of the ADA” stemming from City vehicles parked on sidewalks and crosswalks and called for corrective action. The U.S. Department of Justice pressed for reforms to parking policies, training and accountability, the same levers that would address the on-the-ground behavior spotlighted in the Staten Island audit. Together, federal oversight and local watchdog work raise the possibility that a tongue-in-cheek bracket could help drive real changes at the curb…