The situation in front of a local car dealership has greatly improved.
Used car dealer Chase Auto Group, Inc., located at 1733 E. Gun Hill Road, has agreed to the community’s request to remove its parked cars off the sidewalk in front of their business and remove their cars without license plates from nearby parking spaces.
According to sources, the dealership was also double parking vehicles as well as parking cars without license plates on East Gun Hill Road, usually concealing them between cars belonging to employees of the car seller.
“I drive by (Chase Auto Group) almost everyday on my way to work and, for years, the front of the property was always congested with cars, especially on the sidewalk,” said Tony Vitaliano, chairman of Community Board 11. “Hopefully this reprieve is not temporary – but at least the scenario is improving.”
Vitaliano said that the situation has gotten much better in the last week – as he has not seen any illegally parked vehicles in front of the dealership.
Jeremy Warneke, CB11’s district manager, confirmed that the board visited the site on the morning of Monday, May 1, and saw no double parked vehicles or cars on the sidewalk.
That morning, Warneke, along with CB12’s district manager George Torres met with Chase Auto Group owner Ira LeCompte to discuss the many complaints and address concerns that the two DMs had received at their respective boards.
In response to the situation, LeCompte gave both Warneke and Torres his personal cell phone number, just in case either board receives any more complaints about the business.
During their visit, CB11 also discovered numerous cars without license plates angle-parked on Allerton Avenue between East Gun Hill Road and Mace Avenue, which LeCompte denies are his vehicles. He claims that they have been parked there for years with no complaints.
CB11 said that they have since contacted the 49th Precinct and were assured these vehicles will be removed immediately, if they have not been already.
“Going forward, I think Chase Auto Group has a better understanding of the situation,” said Torres. “It seems like he (Ira) is genuinely interested in making effort to improve this scenario – and you have to respect his effort.”
Torres expressed more concern with another condition irking CB12 – the 18-wheeler semis frequently parked on nearby Edson Avenue.
“I usually give businesses the benefit of the doubt and don’t give them a hard time for minor inconveniences, but these businesses must also comply with regulations,” Torres added. “I am optimistic that this issue has been resolved, or, at the very least, drastically improved.”
Councilman Andy King’s office did not return request for comment, but at last month’s Community Board 11 meeting, a representative of King’s office said that the ongoing problem in front of Chase Auto Group was “a disgrace.”
According to LeCompte, who also attended an CB11 meeting earlier this year to address the community complaints, the only day of the week when cars are stored on the sidewalk in front of his business is when it receives a new delivery of cars.
LeCompte did not return calls requesting comment.
