Mayor Bill de Blasio announced yesterday that he intends to overhaul the City’s outdated placard system – a move that has earned him adulation from Manhattan’s top lawmakers.
Cracking down on placard abuse has been one of de Blasio’s top priorities since 2017, a year that saw a 93 percent increase in summonses for illegal parking compared to the previous one. De Blasio said that his administration is going to phase out physical city-issued placards by 2021, and replace it with a digital system designed to prevent people from using fraudulent placards and misusing legitimate ones. He will also impose harsher penalties for placard abuse and implement a three-strike policy that will end in revocation.
“Placard abuse erodes faith in government and has no place in our city – it’s simply a question of fairness,” said de Blasio. “Misused and fraudulent placards increase congestion and pose a public safety risk. These initiatives give us the tools we need to start making a real dent in this pervasive issue, to help build a fairer city for all.”
State Senator Brad Hoylman commended de Blasio for the announcement. He said that placard abuse is so rampant in the city that he willingly gave up his own while serving on Manhattan’s Community Board 2 – simply because he couldn’t continue using it in good conscience.
“Placard abuse is a violation of the public trust,” said Hoylman. “When I served as Chair of Manhattan’s Community Board 2, I gave up the placard provided to me. Now, with our city more congested than ever, we need stronger enforcement to ensure safe and equal access to our streets. I’m thankful that Mayor de Blasio is cracking down on this egregious practice.”
Assemblywoman Deborah J. Glick concurred, remarking that placard abuse has been a particularly deleterious problem in her district.
“I am happy the Mayor is cracking down on the gross abuse of placards in the City by instituting measures to deter individuals from the misuse of government and fake placards,” said Glick. “For years, parts of my district have suffered from elevated levels of traffic congestion, ticket fraud, and lost revenue due to unenforceable parking fines. These comprehensive measures and penalties will send a clear message that placard abuse will not be tolerated throughout New York City.”
City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez (D-Washington Heights, Inwood), who is also Chair of the Transportation Committee, called placard abuse an “inexcusable” offense and thanked de Blasio for getting serious about it.
“Placard abuse and associated corruptive practices, such as blocking sidewalks and bus and bike lanes, are inexcusable,” said Rodriguez. “It’s the City of New York’s responsibility to hold whomever is at fault, accountable. I’ve worked on this issue for many years and I hope this bill package recently introduced by the Council along with the Mayor’s initiative introduced today will stop the illegal use of placards.”
