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Park Slope Residents Up In Arms Over Disruptive UPS Trucks

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Residents of Park Slope, Brooklyn neighborhood are annoyed and angry after getting boxed in by UPS delivery trucks.

As CBS2's Ali Bauman reported Tuesday, neighbors said a meeting point on one specific block became a choking point for those living nearby.

Residents have spoken out, and UPS may have gotten the message.

Park Slope is known for its brownstones, the area around 9th Street and Seventh Avenue is becoming known for its brown trucks. The UPS trucks line the residential streets and double parking for hours almost every afternoon/

"Just a solid row of UPS trucks," said Connie Grappo. "They're there and I have no idea why."

Bob Levine has been living on 9th Street for 40 years. Last year, he started noticing the curious sea of chestnut lorries out his window.
"
You can't get in or out. You can't cross the street and see around them," Levine said, "and then when another truck comes down the middle to pull in somewhere, it's literally impossible to get traffic through."

And he was not the only one noticing.

"It's chaotic. It's chaotic," said Bob Lemperk of Park Slope. "There's no traffic follow-through. You can't implement anything and then you know, you get stuck."

"The traffic behind them has to veer into the oncoming traffic," said Joe Bombs of Park Slope.

But for Levine, it is not just about the congestion. It is about the safety of his wife, who is wheelchair-bound.

"You have to get past the truck to see the traffic," Levine said. "It's hard to do that with pushing her first out into the traffic."

CBS2 reached out to UPS. A representative told CBS2 the block is in the middle of several delivery routes. UPS said the drivers have made 9th Street an unofficial spot to meet up and switch around packages that need to go on a different truck.

"I don't see them swapping other than swapping talk," Bombs said.

But on Tuesday, there was no troupe of trucks on the block. UPS said in response to a complaint, management directed driver to find somewhere else to sort the packages.

But UPS said it does not know where that will be, since "there isn't a formal designated meeting point."

"You should be trying to keep stuff more secure," said David Solo of Park Slope.

So even though the truck problem has been shipped off one block in Park Slope, it may be coming to a doorstep near you.

CBS's Bauman asked why UPS packages need to be moved between trucks after they have left the depot. No answer had been provided as of late Tuesday afternoon.

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