Photo: Karen Xia / nydailynews.com
A fixture in the Windsor Park neighborhood in Brooklyn, NYC is gone: a 1971 Cadillac has finally been towed away, after spending 25 years illegally parked in the same spot.
Until last week, the once-luxury Caddy seemed impervious to the elements, man’s laws and complaints from the neighbors, who were constantly miffed when seeing it filled with newspapers and garbage, the New York Daily News reports. It took an article in the same publication to finally get authorities to tow it.
“The vintage 1971 Caddy was a local landmark — though one with plenty of detractors as it morphed from luxury car into four-wheeled eyesore. By one longtime neighborhood resident’s estimate, the vehicle first appeared on the block in 1994, some 25 years ago,” the publication says.
According to the same man, the car was hardly ever moved. It stayed in the same place during alternate parking days and even when a movie crew obtained a permit to close down the street and had everyone remove their car for the duration of the shoot. Bad or hot weather didn’t move it either, so it seemed like it would be there for all eternity.
With its flat tires, missing front grille, decayed paint and messy (and smelly, most likely) interior, the Caddy was a sore sight on the eye. Most neighbors complained about it to the police, but they never saw anyone do anything about it. Others feared it was a fire hazard, because it was packed with old newspapers.
Then, one day, someone thought to bring the media into it. The intervention from the NY Daily News proved enough incentive for the authorities to get moving: the Caddy now lies at the NYPD’s Erie Basin Auto Pound, police confirm for the publication.
“The owner, an elderly man reportedly suffering with mental illness, was unable to take care of the vehicle, according to local residents and police sources. Yet the Caddy had a current New York inspection sticker,” the report says.
It remains to be seen if he or a relative picks it up from the lot.
“The vintage 1971 Caddy was a local landmark — though one with plenty of detractors as it morphed from luxury car into four-wheeled eyesore. By one longtime neighborhood resident’s estimate, the vehicle first appeared on the block in 1994, some 25 years ago,” the publication says.
According to the same man, the car was hardly ever moved. It stayed in the same place during alternate parking days and even when a movie crew obtained a permit to close down the street and had everyone remove their car for the duration of the shoot. Bad or hot weather didn’t move it either, so it seemed like it would be there for all eternity.
With its flat tires, missing front grille, decayed paint and messy (and smelly, most likely) interior, the Caddy was a sore sight on the eye. Most neighbors complained about it to the police, but they never saw anyone do anything about it. Others feared it was a fire hazard, because it was packed with old newspapers.
Then, one day, someone thought to bring the media into it. The intervention from the NY Daily News proved enough incentive for the authorities to get moving: the Caddy now lies at the NYPD’s Erie Basin Auto Pound, police confirm for the publication.
“The owner, an elderly man reportedly suffering with mental illness, was unable to take care of the vehicle, according to local residents and police sources. Yet the Caddy had a current New York inspection sticker,” the report says.
It remains to be seen if he or a relative picks it up from the lot.
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