A driveway on a quiet Bensonhurst block has become an unlikely stage for a viral TikTok trend, with strangers pulling up to block it on camera nearly every day — sometimes as many as 10 vehicles in a single day, according to homeowner Frank Chen. The 65-year-old says the stunts have turned his family's home into what amounts to a tourist attraction, and he worries the disruptions could interfere with round-the-clock care his 94-year-old father needs.
The trend began earlier in August, according to the New York Post, after a video showing Chen and his daughter circling a parked car and demanding the driver move racked up nearly 7 million views. That clip, posted by a man claiming to be a neighbor, spawned dozens of copycat videos of drivers deliberately idling in front of the Chen property, filming the family's reaction for social media clout. Chen has been recorded sprinting outside, cursing, honking his horn and threatening to drive forward when he finds cars blocking his driveway, the outlet reported.
The younger Chen, Frank's daughter, has said she was not raised to stay quiet in the face of mistreatment. She has also documented what she describes as ongoing neighbor harassment on a YouTube channel titled Thou Shall Not Harass Thy Neighbor, according to the same report.
A Feud That Predates the Viral Clips
Neighbors agree the underlying conflict stretches back to 2021, when the Chens moved into the Bensonhurst house and their driveway quickly became a popular spot for neighbors and delivery drivers to idle, the report notes. City records show the property has a legal driveway, though neighbors have since filed multiple 311 complaints alleging it was built illegally or altered without proper permits.
Those complaints have prompted the New York City Department of Buildings to say it will send inspectors in the coming days to look into the allegations, per the outlet's reporting. Under city rules, any legal driveway curb cut requires structural approval from the Department of Buildings through its DOB NOW: Build system, plus separate sidewalk and curb construction permits from the Department of Transportation — and residential single-car curb cuts generally cannot exceed 10 to 12 feet in width or encroach on the minimum clearance required from trees, hydrants, light poles and neighboring driveways.
One neighbor, identified as Snow, told the outlet the Chens have been a nuisance to people on the block for five years. Snow said the Chens followed her after she pulled out of their driveway and alleged that a member of the Chen family grabbed her friend through his car window. She also claimed neighbors' aggressive treatment toward the family was provoked by the Chens' own confrontational behavior — a characterization the Chens dispute, according to the report.
Slurs, Spitting and a Police Response That Falls Short
The dispute has also taken an uglier turn. Snow acknowledged using an ethnic slur against the Chens, and the family says neighbors have responded to their requests to keep the driveway clear by spitting, urinating on trees near the property and hurling racist slurs, per the Post's reporting. Bensonhurst — part of Brooklyn Community District 11 — is now home to the borough's largest Chinese immigrant community, with Asian residents making up 41% of the district's more than 180,000 people and foreign-born residents accounting for 46%, according to Census Reporter data, a shift from the neighborhood's earlier decades as a largely Italian-American enclave.
The Chens say they have filed at least a dozen harassment complaints with the NYPD, all of which were closed after investigation, the outlet reported. Police have advised the family to tone down their outbursts at drivers rather than pursuing further action against the people blocking the driveway, and the department says it remains in contact with residents and is working to resolve the matter.
Part of the frustration stems from how New York City's enforcement system actually works. Under city traffic rules, standing or parking in front of a private driveway is illegal, but an NYPD officer must physically inspect the blocked vehicle and issue a summons before any tow can legally happen — a process that can take hours given how 311 dispatches non-emergency calls, according to NYC311. Blocked-driveway complaints are among the most common quality-of-life reports the city receives, accounting for more than 5% of all annual 311 calls and generating over a million complaints in recent years, per New York City Council data — a delay-prone system that residents on Brooklyn forums have said routinely leaves driveways blocked long enough for offending cars to simply leave before police arrive.
What Happens to Drivers Who Get Caught
When enforcement does happen, the penalties are fixed by city code. A parking violation for blocking a driveway in Brooklyn carries a standard $115 fine, according to the NYC Department of Finance, and if a vehicle is towed after a valid summons, licensed towing companies can charge up to $125 for the removal and three days of storage, with an additional $15 for each extra day, under provisions of the city's Administrative Code.
For Frank Chen, the stakes go beyond the viral spectacle. He has said his father needs the driveway accessible around the clock because of his medical condition, and Chen has insisted he will not move or give up the space, asking people to simply stop blocking it. As the TikTok trend keeps drawing new drivers to the block, that request has so far gone unheeded.
