City drivers racked up a record number of tickets last year for illegally planting traffic cones to claim those hard-to-find parking spots — yet even some of their harshest critics admit the rule-breakers might deserve a little sympathy.
The Sanitation Department handed out 533 violations for blocking streets with traffic cones in 2025, after a staggering, record-high 7,208 complaints about the practice poured into the city’s 311 system, according to a Post analysis of city data.
More than 530 cone-related summonses were issued last year — most of them in Queens — marking nearly a 6% jump from 2024’s 470 tickets, almost double the 287 handed out in 2023, and a jaw-dropping 900% surge from just 60 violations in 2022.
Last year, the city cracked down with a record number of tickets on scofflaws who illegally used traffic cones to stake out prized parking spots. Helayne Seidman
The parking wars grew so intense last year that a mother and daughter were caught on viral video attacking a college student over a spot a neighbor had “reserved” with a garbage can in Ridgewood — a shocking clash sparked by curbside turf.
“People will park anywhere,” complained Rob Ennis, a 51-year-old Glendale, Queens, resident, summing up the daily frustration on his block.
“The people next to me, they put out orange cones in places they shouldn’t. I had to fight with [other drivers] about it because they were taking up legal spots.”
JM, a 42-year-old Ridgewood resident, said he’s heard of people using handicap walkers to stake out neighborhood parking spots — and admits he’s even thought about setting out cones himself.
“I’ve seen [cones] about four times in different places, and I take them and move them,” he said.
An illegally placed traffic cone sits on a Glendale, Queens, street — in the borough that, by far, leads the city in parking scofflaws. Jennifer Bain for The NY Post
Still, “it’s usually an hour to find a parking spot,” JM said.
“Sometimes I have no choice and have to leave it in front of a fire hydrant,” he said of his car. “I’ve lived here 30 years, and in the past 10 years, it’s become overcrowded.”
Queens accounted for more than 70% of the city’s traffic-cone violations in 2025, with 380 summonses issued in the borough alone. And the trend isn’t new — since 2020, Queens has racked up 1,000 of the 1,376 cone-related tickets handed out across the Big Apple, city data show.
Queens Councilwoman Joann Ariola points to lax enforcement and a shrinking supply of parking — with spots eaten up by bike lanes and strict regulations — as the driving forces behind the spike in illegal parking.
Illegal parking has become a serious headache across the Big Apple. Helayne Seidman
"It’s been happening for years," said Alex, a 21-year-old Queens driver, referring to the city’s persistent cone-saving scofflaws.
But he admits he can’t help feeling a bit sympathetic toward the rule-breakers.
“It’s so hard to park around here,” he said, “I understand people using cones to save parking spots.”
Local plumber Flori Kasa, 33, says she simply takes matters into her own hands.
"I move them, that’s it," Kasa said as she parked her car on Forest Avenue in Ridgewood.
“Nobody gets to take a spot with cones. I pay taxes. I don’t blame people for putting out cones, but it’s hard for me to park,” Kasa said.
The city says issuing tickets for cone-related violations can be tricky, since officials have to prove the orange markers actually belong to the drivers. Helayne Seidman
The Queens resident recalled a tense encounter with a woman who was literally standing in a parking spot to save it.
“She said she was saving it. I said, ‘No, you’re not, I’m going to park there.’ I wouldn’t move, she wouldn’t move. I stayed there one hour — [and] I got the spot.”
Sanitation officials told FaqInsurances that traffic cones left on sidewalks or streets are treated as illegal obstructions, carrying administrative summonses and fines of up to $200 for repeat offenders.
But FaqInsurances' analysis found that of more than 25,000 cone-related complaints filed with 311 since 2020, tickets were issued in just over 5% of cases.
“In order for us to issue a summons for this, the owner of the cones has to acknowledge that the cones are theirs,” a Sanitation Department rep said.
“We do investigate complaints for this by visiting the home and speaking with the homeowner. If they claim ownership of the cones, we will issue a summons for street obstruction. … If they do not claim the cones as their own, we will simply take them away.”
