Cars Keep Idling along Expressway

You will know them by their ashing hazard lights.

One of South Queens most incessant issues—a thorn in the side of several law enforcement agencies for decades—is the endless line of private cars and for-hire autos idling roadside along a stretch of the eastbound Nassau Expressway between Howard Beach and John F. Kennedy International Airport at all hours of the day and night.

Behind the wheels of these cars are motorists waiting to pick up passengers arriving at nearby JFK. Over the years, witnesses have reported some drivers abruptly pulling their vehicles out of the makeshi parking spots and into tra c, endangering commuters traveling along the busy thoroughfare.

And if last week is any indication, the idling and dangerous driving is not slowing down. e accompanying image was captured last Wednesday a ernoon, a mere four-car snapshot of the dozens of others waiting in line roadside.

e City Police Department’s 106th Precinct and Highway Unit 3, and the Taxi and Limousine Commission have addressed the problem in the past with enforcement initiatives. But the cars eventually return.

Cops continue to remind drivers that if they’re waiting to pick up plane passengers, use the free cell phone lot, not the dangerous shoulder or roadside of an active expressway.