This happens daily on Stockholm Street between St. Nicholas and Cypress Avenues in Brooklyn. The person who owns this vehicle uses the hydrant as their own private parking space, believing the invalid permit they have in the window gives them immunity from punishment. The placard belongs to someone working in the NYPD's Housing P.S.A #9 which is on Jewel Avenue in Flushing, Queens. Total disregard for fire safety on display.

This 2007 Honda not only is parked too close to the fire hydrant, but also has a placard belonging to an officer at the 30th Precinct in Manhattan, which is nowhere close to this spot near the Brooklyn-Queens border. It also has a film over the rear license plate to evade red light cameras, so it's possible that parking violations aren't all the driver is guilty of. The 104th Precinct frequently drives through the area, stops to look at this car parked illegally, sees the placard and keeps driving while others get tickets for being parked further away from the johnnypump.

Just once again a placard holder feels it his his or her right to just break the law "just a little". It is Ok since I saw two NYPD cars go by the car and see the placard and just move on, so maybe it is OK? It's funny, since I am suprised they did not ticket the white car behind. I think that car might just be 15 feet but NYPD has ticketed people there before, but it was raining tonight so maybe they cut both of them a break.

I frequently see cars parked on 158th Street and River Ave. (near Yankee Stadium) blocking the fire hydrant. Cars park on the sidewalk as well. The police say that this is for “game day” but it’s a safety hazard to block a hydrant, and it kills the trees and ruins the sidewalk when cars park there. (The sidewalk is cracked and falling apart due to this practice.) The people who run the parking garage move and park these cars on the sidewalk as if the sidewalk was an extension of the private garage. I don’t know if they are charging people for these “parking spaces,” but since uniformed garage valets are moving the cars and parking them on the sidewalk and street it’s not too far fetched.

A valet from the parking garage has pulled a car in on the the sidewalk next to a fire hydrant. The door is opening as he gets out of the car. Now the hydrant is blocked on both sides! The silver car on the right is the private car of a cop. The car on the left is just a regular private car. These cars remained in these spots for hours.

I wish that people would respect the sidewalks in my neighborhood. I want to feel safe, and not have the sidewalk and fire hydrant blocked by cars. I spoke in a very calm and friendly manner to the garage owner, but he started yelling at me. He called over a police officer who yelled at me too. The police officer said that the cars were parked on the sidewalk and in front of fire hydrant “To prevent a truck bomb from blowing up the stadium! Do you want that to happen?!” (I said “No.”) I can understand blocking the street for this reason and I’m glad that the police are working to keep people safe. However, I do not understand how parking cars on the sidewalk and next to a fire hydrant makes anyone any safer. Do you? I was careful never to raise my voice and to be respectful to the police officer and to the garage owner. (As always!) Honestly, I didn’t expect such a wild reaction just for taking a few photos.

ALWAYS and for years parked illegally. The Black hummer with the Marine sticker is owned by a PSA 4 cop who someone has a rent-subsidized apartmemnt in Village View. This guy just loves him some hydrant parking. He has been doing this for years and the never-to-be-charged-with-steroid-abuse cops of the 9th REFUSE to do anything. Just before this picture was taken I pointed out to the two soduko lovin' parked officer that the Hummer in fornt of them had been blocking the hydrant ALL day. They pulled up took a look, snap, and drove off having done NOTHING!

The blue building is a private parking garage on 158th street. A guy came out of the garage and asked me why I was taking photos. I said it was illegal to park here.

(This was not during a Yankee game, not that it matters since it is a fire hydrant.)

[moderator's note: fixed Permit/Agency - this is a DoE Teacher's permit, not an NYPD one]

UPDATE: This is not a school zone either.

This guy parks in front of not 1 but 2 fire hydrants which are very close together with his NYPD parking placard. He parks here 3-5 times per week for 12 hours minimum. There have been several complaints by people in my neighborhood, but to not avail. My last call to 311 was on the same day I took this picture. At that point he had been there for 3 days (he still has not moved, which makes it 6 days). When I called back for a status report, I was told "Police checked compliant, no violation found". Which is funny because when I pulled in for less than 5 min to unload a few cases of water (with my flashers on and car running), I came back to a traffic cop giving me a ticket. For the past 20 years that I have lived there, you were not allowed to park in between the fire hydrants (if you park between the 2, it gives you approx. 3ft to either hydrant). This guy thinks this is his personal driveway, he does not even attempt to look for parking while every one else either pays for a garage or spends the time finding a valid spot. Hopefully, my building will not need the assistance of the fire department any time soon.

i have watched this guy park his car on the hydrant on 80st and 149th ave in howard beach queens for over 3 months now. why does he get to park at a hydrant especially when the nearest one is 10 houses away south on 80st?
this is ridiculous. i really hope somebody does somethign about this guy. he is from the 88pct as u can see from the parking placard placed on the dashboard

I hung out for awhile and kept expecting someone to run up and drive away. But there was open curbside parking in front of the car, so I think it must have been parked there for awhile. (Sorry for the poor quality photo; maybe it's time to upgrade my phone.)

FDNY employee yelled at me not to take pictures of his car. I wonder why? LOL

These two cars park here several days a week in this same spot.

Why should he have to drive around the block looking for parking like the rest of us?

Here he is on another occasion. There would be more, but I don't always have my camera with me:
http://nyc.uncivilservants.org/post/index/4592

I couldn't find the NYC Sheriff's Department on the pulldown for "select agency," but apparently there is one. There's also a little medalion on the placard that says (near as I can make out) "DSA268." Anybody know what that indicates? Anyway, it's authorized by the NYC Deputy Sheriff's Association...

Wow.

Three wheeler parked by a hydrant.

Bowery and Canal

Parked at Canal and Mott

The perpetrator was parked illegally in front of a fire hydrant. he saw me taking photos and he tried to get my personal info to scare me telling me i wasn't allowed to take photos of his car and threatening to report me (for what i don't know). he knew he was doing something he shouldn't have and his reaction was indicative of this. this type of blatant disregard for parking rules by city employees is contributing to the congstion problem and the fact that parking police allow them to get away with it is making it worse.

pretty common sight around the 13th precinct

This is just one of many abuses of law and discrimination that the city falls, hugelly short of addressing. I have many more pictures that I have taken, as well as videos. All taken in the same block radius of Manhatta, around Audubon avenue and 190st.
I called it a discrimation, against civilians, beacuse all who do not have a placard, receive violations while private vehicles of police officers, in the same sidewalk, commiting the same offenses, go un-punished. One traffic officer bluntly said to me once, "they can park where they want, you need to learn the law" talking about the private NYPD officer's vehicle.

This woman constantly parks in front of the same fire hydrant as if it is her private space. Worst of all, she pulls up directly behind the last car that is legally parked by the hydrant (as if it somehow makes this more safe of an action), so it is usually unable to leave until she is ready to move.

The placard was a new (yellow) restricted permit for the 40-something Precinct, which is nowhere near the East Village.

This "Active Firefighter" has parked illegally at this fire hydrant (see far right of photo - it's about 7 feet from his front bumper) on several occasions, but this was the first time I had a camera handy.

For good measure, he also compounded his illegal parking by being several inches on the curb, and he was kind enough to park in the car behind him by allowing only a half-inch or so of space between the bumpers.

He was parked in front of or less than 15 feet from the hydrant on 2/16-2/18, 2/20 and on 2/21 (he has done this continuously for over a year). He also continuously parks past the No Standing Anytime sign or on the corner of the block.

NOT ONLY IS THIS PARKING GURU BLOCKING A HYDRANT THE VEHICLE IS ALSO BLOCKING THE CROSS WALK - A DOUBLE ~

This is not the first time that this driver has parked in front of or less than 15 feet from a hydrant or has parked either right past a No Standing Anytime sign or on the corner of the block both the hydrant and the sign are on Yellowstone Blvd. - between 67th Road and 67th Drive in Forest Hills on the block of the building 67-40 Yellowstone.

This woman swaps the same fire hydrant spot with the other two. Not sure if they know each other, but the permit in her window is not filled out.

This guy has an expired permit, and usually swaps this hydrant spot with another person who has an illegal permit.

This car parks overnight at the fire hydrant every night. Apparantly, all you need to do now is use a plain white piece of paper and a marker to get out of a ticket.

White St. just West of Broadway seems to be a free for all for Court officers and hydrants mean nothing.

On Amsterdam Avenue across from the Cathedral of St. John the Divine: this car parked between two hydrants and bearing a permit for the Police Academy that expired 12/31/07. The Academy is located more than six miles away from these two hydrants. By the way, isn't the Academy the place where they instill values in new recruits such as upholding the law and not behaving as though you are above the law?

an officer's van parked at a hydrant. This spot is blocked 85 days out of 100 - it is near a station house - I am sure if you call check around the city all the station houses have this problem.

well it was raining so I guess there would be no fires. Copy of permit was so bad that permit # was unreadable. As Iwas taking photo of permit and car, a NYPD patrol car from 78th Pre. came by saw the permit and just kept going. I am sure it was because it was raining and they did not want to get wet.

GMC Jimmy with an EXPIRED INSPECTION STICKER from June of 2007 parked blocking a hydrant.

This is a repeat violator at the same - same location. I called 311 both times. It is a Hydrant and a police officer parked at it, near his station house where they can ALL overlook it. The permit it has if for a different car and it is by a hydrant. More delinquent not-so offical officers.

This "active firefighters" sense of entitlement continues to develop unabated. This repeat offender seems to feel this a "special" parking spot for "active fiirefighters" out and about in Soho. Again no active fires and the nearest fire station is a hike.

This car has an expired permit for a different car than the one being used here to park directly next to a Fire Pump.

Overheard (joke) - "Anyone got a permit I can use ? I don't got mine!" - same, same, if my paperworks got to be right, so does theirs!

Cop from the Mid-Town Manhattan pct. It was parked on the North side of West 35th between 10th ave & Dyer Ave. All day. i WALKED PAST it on my way to work at 3:30 pm and it was still there at 9:30 pm. I called 311 at 3:30 pm.

Sorry about the photo quality. They may be 15 feet away, but is still no standing area. Mostly to allow the MTA buses to turn off the circle.

Well it has been almost every night for the past week. Many times it is many in one night, one leaves and another takes the space. I don't have the energy to doc. every one of them. I have sent emails and called my police prec. and they do nothing. But the cars that don't have permits, even the really bad fake looking ones, they ticket just fine. Even the cars that try to park legal, But maybe they are just "14feetaway" and not the legal 15 feet.

We spotted this truck around 4 PM on Sunday, January 13 on 38th St in Astoria, Queens. It has a police permit from the 81st precinct in Brooklyn.

The permit is a cheap black and white copy, has no license plate number and expired last year. This car is often left at the same pump and never gets a ticket. Way to go 66 Pct.

2006 4 door black nissan pathfinder parks nightly and is observed leaving around 10am-11am
7th pct is half a block as well as fire house this car blocks fire hydrant and neither PD or Traffic enforcement give it a summons.

This is by the station house in Mid-Town Manhattan. The car was there at 2:30 pm when I Was walking to work and was there again on my walk home at 1:30 am. The permit is expired and not for this car, a double whammy ! This place ( and I suspect all station house areas ) is a consistent violator for firehydrant space usage - the entire block was free at 1:30 am but it was still in front of the fire hydrant.

What if a poor poochie has to pee ?

well once again parking at the fire hydrants on my block. two busy to find a legal spot or maybe not block the hydrant 100%.

A charming Sunday-afternoon scene around the corner from 1060 Park Avenue on East 87th Street: this expensive BMW proudly displaying Federal Law Enforcement permit #001 parked at a hydrant. Perhaps the surgeon general himself making a house call? Does permit #001 belong to the chief medical officer of the United States of America? Ah, the right to park at a hydrant because of a medical degree ... what an exciting prospect.

Here is an example of how the EMT Plates are used in Botough Park, Brooklyn. This is a common problem in front of 1849 48 St. They park by a hydrant while going to synagogue to pray. There is no emergency here.