Three popular Bushwick party buses were impounded this month — and one was badly damaged — in what some bus owners said is an aggressive enforcement escalation. The NYPD and the politicians who arranged for the vehicles’ towing said it came in response to repeated complaints about noise, trash and safety
The situation received widespread attention after a viral video captured a double-decker bus being dragged under an LIRR overpass at Woodhaven Boulevard and Eliot Avenue on Monday. The bus is owned by lighting designer Robin Russell-French, who lived in the vehicle in all but the coldest months and regularly hosted late-night parties in it.
“It’s a war, it seems,” he said of the towing, adding that he had planned to move and improve the bus but has been too debilitated by his diagnosis last year of a chronic pain condition called complex regional pain syndrome, which has made him unable to work.
He said he plans to sue the NYPD for dragging his bus under the overpass and multiple lawyers are already vying to take his case.
The owners of two other Bushwick buses that were impounded over the past two weeks said they were also shocked to learn their vehicles had been towed. Though they’ve received parking tickets or been booted for previous violations, this was the first time the NYPD had gone so far as to tow their buses.
Michelle Joni’s party bus was among the three that were towed this month in Brooklyn.
Courtesy Michelle Joni
The NYPD provided the following statement: “After numerous community complaints and violations observed by the 104th Precinct, the NYPD towed the vehicle from the location. The vehicle came into contact with a low bridge. The vehicle subsequently passed under the bridge and was towed away to a storage facility. An inspection of the bridge concluded there was no structural damage.”
The colorful vehicles — two former school buses and in French’s case, a vintage London double-decker bus — have become easily recognizable to many New Yorkers as roving local landmarks at city celebrations such as the Mermaid Parade and Bonnet Bash. They’re known for inviting curious strangers aboard and hosting movable private parties. French’s bus in particular was at one point affiliated with the nearby SILO club, and hosted innumerable after-hours parties.
French said he had a few unpaid tickets related to parking violations but didn’t think he was at risk of being towed. He said his bus was parked on Starr Street in Bushwick and he was staying with friends when it was towed, and only learned it had been wrecked after he was sent the viral video.
Between the bus situation and his health challenges, he said he was “at the end of my rope.”
The exterior of Michelle Joni’s bus. It was one of the buses that was recently impounded.
Courtesy Michelle Joni
The office of Councilmember Robert Holden, who represents Middle Village and Maspeth, took credit for the police actions and said they were part of a wider crackdown on nearby stationary vehicles being used as late-night party spots and mobile homes.
“Our main concern is our constituents, and they didn’t want it. So we stepped in,” said Holden’s Deputy Chief of Staff Alicia Vaichunas, who is currently campaigning to replace Holden. “ We received a lot of calls and complaints about it, about the activity going on there at night.”
French’s bus specifically was parked in Bushwick and located outside their district, Vaichunas admitted in a video heralding its removal. However, she said that many of their constituents walked by regularly and considered it an eyesore.
Vaichunas also said that many RV and bus owners have been illegally disposing of sewage and creating an atmosphere that concerned local parents.
“ I generally feel very safe and grateful and supported by the NYPD,” said Michelle Joni, whose party bus was impounded two weeks ago due to a few unpaid parking tickets. She said that in the past, that kind of violation had led to booting, but never towing. “It kind of feels like we’re under attack,” she said.
Mike Tummelo, founder of event producer JunXion NYC, was similarly surprised when his muraled school bus – which has been the site of countless parties – was impounded on Tuesday.
NYPD “gave the excuse that there was an unpaid ticket and then that the bus was slightly in a bike lane,” he said. But he said that in his 10 years of parking the bus around Brooklyn he’s never previously been impounded, let alone for such relatively small offenses.
“Everybody’s just average people here, artists trying to do something creative and bring a little bit more magic to these streets,” said Tummelo.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
