Photo Courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
“Placard abuse clogs our streets and weakens New Yorkers’ trust in the government that serves them,” Mayor de Blasio said.
By Forum Staff
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday announced the launch of a digitized placard reader program in north Brooklyn—a “major step” toward cracking down on abuse and ensuring public servants use their parking privileges appropriately.
Starting this week, NYPD’s Traffic Enforcement agents in Patrol Borough Brooklyn North are able to validate issued parking permits with handheld electronic devices. The devices will allow agents to determine if the placard was legitimately issued; if it belongs to the vehicle it’s placed in; and if it’s being used in accordance with the privileges it confers.
Photo Courtesy of Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
“Placard abuse has no place in New York City,” said DOT Commissioner Gutman.
“Placard abuse clogs our streets and weakens New Yorkers’ trust in the government that serves them. There’s no place for it in our city, and I’m proud to take this next step toward a fairer and more accountable system,” de Blasio said.
The program’s phased rollout will begin in north Brooklyn, with a special emphasis on downtown Brooklyn. It will expand to lower Manhattan by mid-January, and to the rest of the city by the end of January. By 2022, all placards will be replaced with vehicle stickers, officials noted.
“Placard abuse has no place in New York City and we are grateful to Mayor de Blasio and the NYPD for launching this program to help strengthen enforcement and keep our streets safe,” said Department of Transportation Commissioner Hank Gutman. “The DOT has joined our sister agencies in sharing our placard data with the NYPD to help end this type of corruption.”
NYPD has issued 43,000 parking summonses to improperly parked vehicles displaying placards in 2021 alone—a 21-percent increase from 2020.
