For neighbors living in one section of Fordham/Bedford Park, scouring for an overnight spot means traveling outside the neighborhood to look for one. In an ironic twist, spots are indeed available overnight in the neighborhood; residents just can’t utilize them.

The roughly 80 street spots can be found at East 194th Street, between Valentine and Marion avenues. But a near 15-year parking rule restricts cars from parking there between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., a stipulation instituted after crime spiked so much in the neighborhood it warranted the provision. It was intended to last for one year, but has since stretched for 14 years.

But crime’s softened since those unruly days, and residents want to reclaim those spots, easing the hassle of searching for a spot that could be blocks from someone’s home.

“You’re punishing a community that’s already growing,” Aldo Perez, a community activist, said at a joint Community Board 7 Public Safety and Traffic and Transportation Committee meeting, which focused on the issue. “You’re also denying the progress of someone’s growth in the community.”

The committee ruled in favor of lifting the parking restriction. It now goes to the Traffic and Transportation Committee, which will likely issue a ruling in favor of the lift. It will later go to the full board, which will vote on the motion on Nov. 18. Should it pass, a request will be made to the New York City Department of Transportation, which handles parking change requests.

But lifting the ban poses a conundrum to those on the fence. If the parking ban is lifted, will this result in a crime spike? After all, it was in the late 90s and early 2000s that prostitution and drug use ran rampant inside the cars occupying the overnight spots. For the handful of residents who have seen those dark days, crime will just keep happening despite the current ban.

“That’s not going to change anything,” Alex Soto, a resident of East 194th Street, said of the lift.

A look at the New York City digital Crime Map shows there were a total of nine reported major crimes along the strip, including one report of a homicide between the months of June and September this year. In August, the Five-Two arrested more than 40 members of a crew that terrorized the neighborhood.

Soto, a resident living the neighborhood for 30 years, came to the meeting with his longtime girlfriend, Angel Seymour, who called the ban “unnecessary” and a boon to the city reaping from fines and tows. “That’s the only reason I see that happening,” Seymour said.

In the streets, the consensus was clear: bring back the spots.  Chavela Millian, a three-year resident on East 194th Street, said the lift would be a relief for her husband, who comes home during the overnight hours after driving a cab. DaMaris Cruz, an 8-year resident, said the neighborhood is safer these days thanks to the constant stream of cops patrolling the area.

The 52nd Precinct, which handles enforcement, supports the lift, though Detective June Cortez, with the precinct’s Community Affairs unit, cautioned not to blame the police if “crime goes through the roof.”

“We don’t want to hear anyone saying, ‘What’s going on? Crime is going through the roof.’ Because this is what the community wanted.” Cortez warned. “You can’t have both.”