Exclusive | Blocked fire hydrant complaints soared in 2025 – as FDNY issues dozen-plus criminal summonses to derelict drivers 

Blocked fire hydrant reports in the Big Apple skyrocketed last year as fire officials continue to blame slowed response to some blazes on drivers skirting the law.

Complaints to 311 about blocked fire hydrants jumped 23.4% in 2025, with 165,466 reports made compared to about 134,000 the year prior, according to a Post analysis of city data.

The reports have increased nearly every year for the last decade, with a 63% rise in complaints in 2021 compared to 2020.

Some drivers defended the flagrant violations, alleging that hydrant parking is the inevitable result of parking space gobbled up by daylighting measures, bike lanes and even placard-abusing city workers.

“Of course the tickets are up. There’s nowhere left to park,” fumed Jose Rivera, a building superintendent from the Mott Haven section of The Bronx.

“The city’s declared war on car owners,” Rivera, 42, added. “They force people to park at hydrants because people have no choice, they’re in a major hurry to make an appointment and can’t find any other place to park and now they’re screwed.”

Cab driver Wilmer De la Cruz, 36 of Kingsbridge, agreed: “They keep shrinking parking and then act shocked when people end up by a hydrant. I get why the city wants it more walkable, but if you still need a car, especially up here, the math doesn’t work anymore.”

The Post’s findings come after FDNY officials said a Bronx deli fire that injured three people — including two firefighters — last week saw a delayed emergency response due to blocked hydrants.

“Multiple vehicles were blocking fire hydrants,” the FDNY said in a statement after the Jan. 5 fire, noting all affected vehicles were ticketed and towed. “Luckily, no one was seriously injured.  But this selfish act could mean the difference between life and death. Don’t do it.”

Parking within 15 feet of a fire hydrant is illegal and could result in fines up to $5,000, FDNY reps said.

Last year, the FDNY began issuing criminal summonses to drivers after blocked hydrants hindered emergency response to a pair of deadly blazes.

There were 13 criminal summonses issued in total in 2025, and three issued so far in 2026. 

The total fines for 2025 were $49,500, with fines ranging from $2,500 to $4,000 – but that hasn’t stopped drivers from continuing to block hydrants more than 6,200 times in the first two weeks of 2026, according to city data.

“It’s only getting worse,” council member Joann Ariola, who represents southwestern Queens and chairs the City Council’s Committee on Fire and Emergency Management, told The Post Tuesday. “We’ve gotten more complaints in the last year than we’ve gotten in the four years that I’ve represented the district.”

The councilwoman has blamed both record-low NYPD staffing — and therefore enforcement — on the uptick in hydrant-blocking parking, as well as a reduction in parking spaces due to pedestrian safety enhancements from the Department of Transportation like daylighting and bike lane expansions.

However, the DOT refuted that the city still has 3 million on-street parking spaces in the boroughs – and the Bronx fire didn’t even happen on a street with a bike lane or in a neighborhood with a particularly high number of bike lanes.

“Protected bike lanes are a proven life-saving tool that reorganizes a tiny fraction of our collective street space to make our roads safer for everyone—whether you are walking, biking, or in a car,” a DOT rep said, calling hydrant-blocking behavior “inexcusable.”

The worst offending regions in 2025 were in and around Bensonhurst (13832 complaints), Glendale (10,670 complaints) and Bay Ridge (10,487 complaints), while some of the best-behaved areas were around Midtown East (237 complaints), East Harlem (297 complaints) and Midtown (313 complaints).

Ariola is now drafting legislation to make it easier for firefighters to issue summonses – and circumvent a lengthy paperwork process – by enabling them with “scanners.”

A pair of bills introduced in 2024 and 2025 by former Queens councilman Bob Holden proposing visible hydrant markings, and higher penalties and criminal fines for hydrant-blocking, respectively, were never passed.

Ariola has put both on her “priority list” and already submitted them to new speaker Julie Menin for hearings.

“I believe it would give the driver pause,” she said of hefty fines, “because it would not be something that they would incorporate into their monthly cost of living — [like a] $115 [fine] for parking.”

In the meantime, Ariola’s office is encouraging constituents to report blocked hydrants to 311 — and calling on both City Council and City Hall to support the legislative push.

“We can start to make real civil penalties,” she said, “and if the mayor sees fit, they could even become criminal penalties.

“We have to do everything we can,” Ariola added. “It really is a matter of saving lives.”