Thursday, October 1, 2026
Residents voiced growing frustration over illegal parking, abandoned vehicles, and overcrowded streets during last week’s Community League of Garden City South meeting, where residents and officials discussed the increasing presence of TLC vehicles throughout Franklin Square neighborhoods.
TLC vehicles — cars licensed by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission and commonly used for ridesharing and for-hire transportation services — have become a growing point of concern for many residents, who say the vehicles are increasingly being parked overnight on residential streets, limiting parking availability and creating congestion in already crowded neighborhoods.
Among those who spoke was Doreen Cantalino, who said conditions have noticeably worsened over the years. Cantalino, who has lived in the same neighborhood since 1959, said she has seen “more and more TLCs” parked throughout residential blocks in recent years.
Residents raised concerns about commercial vehicles parking overnight, along with cars left on private property and public streets with expired registrations or no license plates at all.
Members of the 5th Precinct POP Unit, the Nassau County Police Department’s Problem Oriented Policing Unit, explained that abandoned vehicles parked on roadways are handled through police enforcement, while issues on residential property may involve town code enforcement officials.
The discussion quickly shifted to how long abandoned vehicles can remain before being removed.
A POP Unit officer explained that if it's an unregistered vehicle with no plates on it, they deem it to be abandoned and then they can impound it.
Officials added that authorities generally attempt to contact homeowners or vehicle owners before towing cars away, though vehicles can still be ticketed immediately depending on the situation.
Councilman Tom Muscarella encouraged residents to continue reporting abandoned vehicles directly to both police and town officials.
“If you see the abandoned car in front of your house, and you notify the police department, they're doing their due diligence,” Muscarella said.
He added that involving his office can help speed up the process.
“With the power and authority of the Town of Hempstead, between the two of us, we'll get that car out of there a lot faster,” he said.
Residents also described quality-of-life concerns tied to overcrowded parking conditions. One homeowner described a neighbor who allegedly stores numerous vehicles filled with garbage along a dead-end street.
Domenico Ciaccio, president of the Morton Civic Association since 2013, also referenced ongoing concerns. “How do we go about changing the actual code?” He believes that there should be an increase in ticketing.
Carl Gerrato, who helps lead community outreach and information-sharing efforts within the Civilian Patrol, a group dedicated to essentially as Gerrato described as being the eyes and ears of the police department.
Gerrato said in a phone call with the Herald that his group began tracking parking complaints more than a year ago after residents in his neighborhood struggled to find parking because TLC vehicles occupied streets overnight.
“We see something, we say something as it should be.”
“We've been tracking and testing what's the best way to approach this growing issue,” Gerrato said.
According to Gerrato, the initiative focused on finding practical enforcement solutions before rolling the effort out community-wide.
Gerrato said the civilian patrol worked closely with the 5th Precinct POP Unit over the past year to determine what enforcement measures were effective.
He stressed that the effort is centered on enforcing existing laws, not targeting specific groups.
“We proved the proof of concept,” Gerrato said. “Now it's time to get the laws changed and make things better."
