Parking scam revealed in Cobble Hill, cost several residents money

COBBLE HILL, Brooklyn (WABC) -- There's a lot of construction in Cobble Hill these days, and lots of signs that limit parking spaces.

They all look official, but there was one that looked a bit off.

"The sign looked fishy," said Dorothy Siegal, a resident.

Siegal could tell the signs on Henry Street weren't quite right, but the ticket she got for parking under it sure was: $115.00.

"I paid the ticket because it's not worth getting worked up over," Siegal said.

So did lots of people, maybe hundreds. The Cobble Hill Block Association got so many complaints, they called the Department of Transportation (DOT).

"They did finally send out an inspector and did find that these were illegally placed signs," said Amy Breedlove, Cobble Hill Association.

A statement from the DOT said, "Our inspectors found that the signs were not authorized by the DOT and asked the contractor to remove them."

The DOT won't name the contractor that put the signs up illegally.

"They should somehow sanction the developer or whoever it was that put up that sign because you shouldn't be able to get away with that, and they parked for all the months that they needed to park, and I'm sure that people do this all over the city and it's not right," Siegal said.

But what about all those people who were issued summonses for the two months the signs were up?

Remember, those folks paid $115 each for parking where, as it turns out, it was perfectly legal to park.

"We've been told by the DOT that they're out of luck," Breedlove said.