NEW YORK (VINnews) – A Brooklyn city councilman who has long vowed to put an end to illegal parking on has made good on his word, introducing legislation that will offer cash incentives to those who report the scofflaws.
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Streetsblog (https://bit.ly/36SxAjP) reported that City Councilman Stephen Levin introduced legislation on Thursday with Council Speaker Corey Johnson that would allow civilians to reported those who park in bike and bus lanes, crosswalks and on the sidewalk, including police cars and cars with city-issued NYPD placards.
Violators could face fines of $175, with 25 percent of that amount going to the person who filed the report the an online portal to be overseen by the Department of Transportation.
“We all know how dangerous it is when cars park in the bike lanes, bus lanes, with impunity,” said Levin, whose district has been plagued with illegal parking issues. “Rather than banging my head against the wall, why not give the public the power to enforce?”
The bill does include two exemptions – cars parked by hydrants and those illegally parked within a 1,320 foot radius of a school would not be subject to penalties under this legislation.
Placard abuse has been an ongoing issue in the city. Two units dedicated to fighting the problem were dissolved this summer by Mayor Bill de Blasio due to budget cuts – one of which was never actually created.
“This new bill would give New Yorkers the power to do what the NYPD and others have failed to do for so long – end placard abuse through real time crowd-sourced reporting and appropriately harsh penalties,” said Johnson. “Placard abuse is a street safety issue and a governmental trust issue.”
A similar program introduced to prevent cars from idling on city streets for more than three minutes, or one minute if near a school, has been successful. The city has paid out $183,000 in reward money to those whose video submissions of idling cars resulted in actual fines being levied.
Just like in Nazi Germany or Communist Soviet Union, having people spy on their neighbors and report to the government for a reward! Can we say “moser” ?
Malshinim …communism at its best !!!! But the MTA has no money, the DSNY is cutting 400 jobs , because of the lack of money. Yet, there is money to pay for “Snitches ” !!!
Sounds disgusting. Hiring people to snitch.
How low can they still go.
Unbelievable. These guys have no limits. Where is all this gonna end?? It’s insane
Cool.
So how exactly does this work ? You call it in and who will respond? The social workers? Can you call it in after the Ticket was already issued?
No, the money is not coming from nowhere but from the fines levied and paid. What is the problem here. If you don’t park illegally you will not be at risk. The real question is whether receiving this reward has to be declared when you apply for Section 8 or Food stamps.
You are right. Unbelievable that people just park in bus lanes disrupting traffic.. These guys have no limits, parking on crosswalks making it dangerous for me to get across with my stroller and kids in tow. Where is all this gonna end?? It’s insane to just allow lawbreakers to get away with it. This is a great way to enforce the law without any upfront expense.
What constitutes a “school”? Must it be a public school? How about a charter school private? A private school? A yeshiva? A daycare center?
Seems if the purpose of exempting from this stupid program people who are picking up their kids at school they’re going to have to include all of the above (and others as well). If so, there’s almost nowhere this dumb program will apply