Move to curb placard abuse
City pols took aim Tuesday at drivers who abuse the power of the placard to park in bike lanes, ignore rules of the road and otherwise enrage New Yorkers.
Official city vehicles are now barred from obstructing cycling lanes and fire hydrants, the fine for unauthorized or fraudulent parking permits is doubled and the NYPD will electronically track placards, among other bills the City Council passed Tuesday.
“Neighborhoods across the city are plagued with cars that park with impunity, blocking sidewalks and bike lanes, in front of hydrants, doubleparking,” Council Speaker Corey Johnson (D-Manhattan) said at a news conference.
“Placard abuse is corruption, and no driver has the right to take away space,” he added. “We’ve tolerated it for years as one of those unchangeable facts of life in New York City, but those days are hopefully over.”
The legislative package includes bills that:
● Prohibit official city vehicles from blocking a bike lane, bus lane, crosswalk, sidewalk or fire hydrant.
● Empower the NYPD to crack down on illegal use of placards at 50 of the sites that get the most complaints and summonses in the city. The sweeps will come once a week for six months.
● Make the Police Department set up a “centralized electronic tracking system for all city-issued parking permits,” recording all summonses issued for placard abuse.
● Require the NYPD to issue “periodic reports” on placard abuse.
● Create “a standardized application process for city-issued parking permits.”
● Require 311 to accept complaints and sent-in photos of placard abuse.
● Revoke placards from drivers who get three or more violations related to abuse, among other circumstances.
● Mandate the city to “develop a comprehensive, citywide plan for the distribution and use of city-issued parking permits” by December 2020.
“Placard abuse is rampant across New York City, and its damaging impact can be seen on side streets and avenues in all five boroughs,” said city Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who sponsored the bill doubling fines for placard abuse. “The effects of placard corruption are not just an inconvenience, but a danger and a misuse of our roadways.”
All but one of the bills passed, 44 to 0. The bill barring city vehicles from blocking bike lanes and the like passed with “nay” votes from Councilmen Robert Cornegy (D-Brooklyn), Chaim Deutsch (D-Brooklyn), Steven Matteo (R-S.I.), Eric Ulrich (R-Queens) and Kalman Yeger (D-Brooklyn).