New Yorker blocks neighbor's car in by parking in front of their shared driveway, gets angry when she wakes him up at 2 AM to move it: 'Do it again, I'll have it towed.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
May 24, 2026 12:30 PM EDT

It was much nicer for her to wake him up and let him fix his mistake than wait for him to get a ticket.

You can't always control what your neighbor does. If you live in a neighborhood with a Homeowners' Association, you can absolutely control the color of mulch that your neighbor uses in their front lawn by reporting the issue to the HOA. But sometimes a neighbor will do whatever they want, regardless of whether an HOA dictates their actions. 

It can be frustrating when one of your neighbors never mows their lawn, while you keep your lawn clean and pristine. While it doesn't technically harm you in any real way, it can reflect poorly on the neighborhood, dragging down property values and whatnot. And sometimes it is just an eyesore. People don't want to live next door to a house that is never maintained and looks shabby compared to the rest of the neighborhood, which is why Homeowners Associations are desirable to some. 

There's a significant distinction between a neighbor neglecting to maintain their home and putting you in harm's way. The neighbors in this story had no problem parking their cars in front of their duplex driveway, blocking their neighbor in. Instead of letting them get a ticket, she woke them up at 2 AM to tell them it was illegal to park in front of the driveway. How did they repay her kindness, you may ask? Exactly how you think they did. 

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  • Row houses line a city street with parked cars
    via Zoshua Colah

    Cars parked in front of rowhouse apartments in Brooklyn, New York.

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Am I the bad guy for waking up the whole family downstairs at 2 am because they thought they could park and block my driveway overnight?

    I live in a duplex in NYC. We rent the downstairs. We're chill and don't mind their friends throwing parties or staying over as long as they respect the property and keep the noise down at night. But a couple of
    via u/Positive-Run3207
  • months ago, one of their guys blocked the driveway around 7 PM. I asked him nicely to move it and not do it again, but he clearly didn't care. Fast forward to a few days ago: I get dropped off at 2 AM and see his car
    via u/Positive-Run3207
  • completely blocking my driveway again, even going over a bit onto the neighbor's side. I stood outside for five minutes debating whether to just have him ticketed and towed or wake
    via u/Positive-Run3207
  • up the whole house. I chose option 2 and blasted the doorbell for 10 seconds - this part because they do have a kid who goes to school the next day. They answered and I told her the car was blocking me and I
    via u/Positive-Run3207
  • needed to leave. It took the guy five minutes to come out and he was visibly ped. He was like you really have to wake everyone up for that? and I told him that hes blocking me in and i needa leave and do it again ill
    via u/Positive-Run3207
  • have it towed. He said ill have to go pay for it and I told him to f watch me. He kept cursing at me, so I said back and repeated "thats why youre listening and moving
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  • your car right yeah keep it movin buddy." The guys 40+ and I'm in college. He moved it and I just walked back upstairs and watched the secuirty cams. I knew he was ped when he looked at the driveway and both
    via u/Positive-Run3207
  • A security camera is watching
    via YASA Design Studio (Unsplash+)

    An outdoor security camera, capturing all of the action. 

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • cars were still there Am I the ah_le?
    via u/Positive-Run3207
  • Only-Breadfruit-6108 It's illegal to park across a driveway here. How else would you get them to move? It's lucky it was them. I'd be ped being woken up but it would be worse waking and finding my car gone. ΝΤΑ
    via u/Only-Breadfruit-6108
  • 3Blind Mice1 I'm from Houston, I'd be worried about my car getting towed leaving my car in a place like that for half an hour, and we don't even have parking issues compared to a lot of places. Tow truck drivers really love to see illegal parking. Just to clarify, this was a driveway leading to a small (but commonly shared) parking lot? Pretty sure you could have gotten him towed no questions asked. You did him a favor if you ask me
    via u/3BlindMice1
  • ohgeez2879 i believe he was parked on the street, but blocking a two-car driveway.
    via u/ohgeez2879
  • Flashy-Bluejay1331 NTA - there's no good excuse to block you in. What if you did need to go somewhere urgently or leave early in the morning.
    via u/Flashy-Bluejay1331
  • Positive-Run3207 OP Thank you thats exactly what I thought during those 5 mins
    via u/Positive-Run3207
  • Wonderful_Ad_6089 Honestly, you were being kind by just waking everyone up and making him move it rather than immediately going with towing. And making him move it when you didn't actually have to get out that minute, really leads credence to your threat of getting it towed next time, so hopefully it doesn't happen again.
    via u/Wonderful_Ad_6089
  • Brown and white vintage car on snow covered ground during daytime
    via Andrew Valdivia

    A tow truck towing away a car that was parked in front of a driveway.

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Ok-Process-7350 In NYC it needs to be ticketed first then you can have it tow. They are slow to respond.
    via u/Ok-Process-7350
  • imnickelhead If that's the case I'd grab my tow strap, hook it to his frame and drag his car out of the way and leave it in the road or in a tow away zone. Not blocking traffic or anything but enough of a nuisance for the city to tow it immediately. Then I'd call the police and report an abandoned vehicle in the road. Be sure to wear a hat and glasses block your license plate and use a friend's vehicle if possible, just in case of cameras.
    via u/imnickelhead

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duplex neighbors late night driveway towing cars argument new york illegal parking
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