Queens group demands stricter parking enforcement after cars blocked hydrants at fatal fire

A community group in Queens is demanding action following a fatal fire this week where FDNY officials said illegally parked cars blocked access to the nearest fire hydrants and slowed firefighters’ response.

Authorities said the blaze, which broke out in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, early Sunday morning, remained under investigation and they were still determining whether the blockage directly contributed to the death of a 37-year-old man and injuries of a woman and child. But FDNY officials said even a short delay in accessing water during a fire can have devastating consequences, and pointed to the incident as an example of a citywide problem.

“Seconds count in an emergency, and the FDNY is begging New Yorkers in all five boroughs: Please DO NOT block fire hydrants,” Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker said in a statement. “There’s no time to waste working around a parked car when lives are on the line.”

A spokesperson for the FDNY said the department did not have data on how often blocked fire hydrants featured at fire scenes, but said the issue “persists throughout the city.” Two cars were illegally parked in front of the two closest hydrants at the Bay Ridge fire, which happened around 3:30 a.m. near 80th Street and 5th Avenue, officials said. The FDNY posted photos of the alleged offending vehicles on social media.

Early Sunday morning in Brooklyn, parked cars blocked the two closest fire hydrants as firefighters responded to a fire at about 3:45 a.m. The fire turned fatal. Seconds count in an emergency. Keeping fire hydrants unobstructed helps firefighters respond quickly.

Call 311 to… pic.twitter.com/fkN69fnhAf

— FDNY (@FDNY) February 9, 2025

The incident prompted the Ozone Park Residents Block Association, on the other side of the city, to call on Monday for stricter enforcement of parking violations and faster response times to 311 complaints about blocked hydrants. The group sent city and state officials a letter describing a decline in NYPD enforcement of parking violations and urging that hydrant obstruction be treated as a more serious offense than a low-level summons.

“This issue has become an increasingly severe problem in Ozone Park and across the city,” wrote Sam Esposito, the association’s president. “Officers no longer consistently issue parking summons when they observe offenses while on patrol, and response times for 311 complaints about hydrant obstructions have been alarmingly delayed. In some cases, by the time officers arrive, the offending vehicle has already left, with no consequences for their actions.”

The 59-year-old said he has lived in Ozone Park his entire life and that drivers routinely block the neighborhood’s hydrants. He said the association has filed hundreds of 311 complaints on the matter, but only a few have resulted in summonses.

“Either the cops closed it out and never put a summons, or by the time cops got there, eight, nine, 10 hours later, obviously the car was gone,” Esposito said.

The letter recommended shortening the required clearance area around fire hydrants to “reduce the likelihood of hydrants being blocked,” and argued the current rules are “excessive and unreasonable.” It also suggested that the city paint official markings around hydrants to deter illegal parking and make the regulations clearer to drivers.

"The NYPD takes hazardous parking violations seriously. Last year, the NYPD issued 9,445 parking summonses for blocked fire hydrants within the confines of the 106 precinct – the precinct that encompasses Ozone Park," a spokesperson for the NYPD said in a statement. "This is a 10% increase from the year prior where 8,568 summonses were issued for blocked fire hydrant."

City Hall did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday night.

“It should be a summons if they’re blocking the hydrant, but if they’re blocking the hydrant and there’s a fire, it should be a misdemeanor,” Esposito said, referring to parking scofflaws. “Clear and simple: You get arrested.”

The FDNY on Monday said it set up a table near the scene of the Bay Ridge fire to share information on fire safety and prevention.

Andrew Giambrone contributed reporting.

This story has been updated with comment from the NYPD.