Been living near 23rd and 6th for a couple months now. Between about 11:30 and 2, the crosswalk on the west side of 6th becomes a showroom for delivery e-bikes and scooters. Not on the sidewalk — actually in the crosswalk itself, some chained to the No Parking sign. Is this just accepted now? I tried 311 but the app kept asking for a license plate, which these obviously don't have. Does anyone have a go-to category that actually works, or do I just learn to walk in the bike lane with the traffic?

Yeah, that stretch is rough. The plate thing is because 311 assumes you're reporting a car. For a scooter, try Blocked Crosswalk under pedestrian complaints and just write "no plate" in the notes. Honestly though, don't expect much unless it's the same business setting them out every day. If they're locked to a DOT sign, that's a separate issue — the sign is city property, but the scooter still gets treated like an abandoned bike half the time. Persistent 311 complaints can eventually get a sweep.

Wait, is locking a scooter to a street sign even legal? I saw a guy doing it outside my job the other day and the whole sign was wobbling. Also do the delivery apps care if you report the restaurant? I always feel kind of bad for the riders because they're just trying to make money.

The apps don't care and the restaurants definitely don't. If it's attached to a leaning sign, that's more of a DOT thing. My local sign wobbled for months until someone sent 311 a photo with the exact intersection. The city's app is a choose your own adventure — half the time you need one category to get a response and another one for the photo to even upload.

Oh I know this spot!! You mean right by the crosswalk on 6th with the juice place? The scooters line up like they're in a parade! I've tried Blocked Crosswalk and the app just errors out if there's no vehicle plate. The workaround is the 311 web version — pick "other" and describe it. Also, if one is locked to a traffic signal pole, call 311 and give them the little silver tag number on the pole. Signal pole obstruction gets a much faster response than a generic crosswalk complaint!

My rule for crosswalk nonsense: take a photo with the closest store sign in the frame, then email the BID. They don't want the sidewalk looking like a junk drawer. Sometimes the BID calls the restaurant, the riders get a talking-to for a day or two. Not a permanent fix, but it's better than waiting for 311 to close your ticket as "no violation."

BIDs are hit or miss. Up on 125th, ours only moves when retailers complain about their own doorways. The crosswalk is basically no-man's-land. I've had better luck calling the precinct non-emergency and asking for traffic enforcement to clear the crosswalk, but you have to give them the exact cross street and time. Even then it's a maybe.

Thanks everyone. I used the web version like ferryfanatic said and picked Blocked Crosswalk. Got a confirmation number. Also took a photo with the juice place sign in the background like Gowanus_G suggested. We'll see if anything happens. The wobbling No Parking sign is real too — one of them looked ready to fall over today. I'll mention that separately if I reopen.

Keep the confirmation number. If they close it as "no violation," reopen it with a new photo and say it's chronic. That sometimes flags it as a repeat complaint. And if you ever see a scooter locked to a tree pit, that's a different category — tree trunk damage. Don't get me started on that one.

Yes!! Tree pit locking drives me absolutely crazy! They strip the bark off young trees and the parks department has to come out. For that, call 311 and say damage to tree — there's an arborist complaint for it. But back to the crosswalk: is there a school right there? If so, you can ask for it to be escalated as a school zone obstruction. That gets a different level of attention. Have you tried going by around 2:30 when the school pickup double-parking starts? It's a whole separate mess!