It could mean double trouble for Big Apple delivery drivers.
A Queens lawmaker is leading a push to install cameras that would ticket motorists who park illegally — in the latest Big Brother-style crunch on drivers in the five boroughs.
State Assemblyman Steven Raga is leading a group of Democratic legislators who want to install 150 new cameras that would be part of a $35 million pilot project to get tough on bad parkers — including delivery drivers who double park to drop off their goods.
“With the overwhelming increase of cars on our roads, manual enforcement has not been able to meet the demand to combat double parking and illegal parking,” Raga wrote in a letter to Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie last week, according to a report by Gothamist. “These bad actors rarely face violations, allowing chaos and safety hazards to persist for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.”
The cameras would add to camera woes already faced by drivers in the city, who already deal with traffic cams that crack down on motorists who speed, blow through red lights or block bus lanes.
Bus lane fines start at $50 and can get as high as $250 for repeat offenders.
The idea got mixed reviews from New York City drivers.
“What’s with the guys running the city?” said Massapequa carpenter Michael King. “It’s like they’re sitting around trying to think up ways to shut down all the small businesses in the city and get rid of everyone coming in for work. I don’t get it.”
Nick Lutzky, a tile setter, agreed the move could put a dent on business deliveries.
“It takes away from the business,” he said. “They’ll lose money after the first guy gets one of these tickets, because we’ll have to go to places where we can park, which is nowhere with a truck in the city.”
Delivery driver Junior Ayella conceded the camera proposal was a good idea, but thinks truck drivers should be given a break if it goes into effect — and said he often has no choice but to double park.
“I’m not gonna lie to you, it’s a good idea,” Ayella said. “But I have a truck. I deliver all over and sometimes there is no parking for me so I gotta do it almost every time I am on the clock. Every day people get mad at me but you just have to deal with it. I just ignore them.
“Before they do that they gotta find a middle ground,” he said of Raga’s proposal. “It’s not fair to the other drivers if we block them in, but what are we going to do?”
Other New Yorkers were 100% behind the idea.
“I’m all for it,” said Upper East Side resident John Robinson. “I’ve been blocked in once for half an hour. I had to go to pick up something and I was late. The person was working in some other building. I had to wait. It held me up. I was upset, absolutely!”
Brooklyn locksmith Bobby Kerr said double-parkers have been an occupational hazard.
“Once I had to drive on the sidewalk all the way down the end of the block to get onto the street so I could get to work,” he said. “We are on call and we go wherever they need us. It’s a headache.”
However, the state legislator said the idea isn’t just about tackling a parking headache.
“Double parking and curb violations aren’t just a nuisance—they’re a public safety hazard,” Raga wrote in a post on X. “Our legislation ensures enforcement of existing laws to protect drivers and pedestrians from blocked crosswalks, bike lanes, and fire hydrants.”
Blocked fire hydrants have been an issue that have plagued firefighting efforts over the past month — two cars blocked hydrants at a fatal fire in Bay Ridge that slowed the FDNY’s response last month and a deadly inferno at a Bronx Buddhist temple days later also had a car illegally in front of a hydrant.
The city’s Department of Transportation suggested it would back the proposed legislation.
“Automated enforcement has proven to change driver behavior and make our streets safer for everyone,” a DOT spokesperson said in a statement to The Post.
“While we are reviewing this legislation, NYC DOT supports expanding the use of automated enforcement to uphold the city’s parking regulations, which are essential to keeping streets clear, reducing traffic congestion, and protecting New Yorkers on our roads.”