Eliminating ghost plates on cars is high on NYC Mayor Eric Adams' to-do list. Here's what he is trying.
NEW YORK -- The New York City Police Department is teaming up with the Department of Sanitation to get so-called "ghost cars" off the streets.
The initiative comes as Mayor Eric Adams tries to turn the page on the corruption investigations engulfing his administration.
How the joint program works
Adams announced Wednesday a new way to deal with those cars with fake plates often used in the commission of crimes. The NYPD and DSNY are working together to find them and tow them away.
"These cars are a pain in the ass," Adams said.
The mayor said ghost cars are wreaking havoc on the city, adding some of the violent crimes in the five boroughs involve people driving cars with altered plates, including people leaving the scene of an accident. They can't be traced because the plates have been altered.
Previously, the only way the city found ghost cars was if they went through toll plazas. But that's not the case anymore.
"Fifteen uniformed cops from the NYPD are now detailed to the Sanitation Department for the exclusive purpose of tagging and towing cars parked in neighborhoods across the city, stopping them before the key goes into the ignition," DSNY Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
The task force removed 295 cars from areas of the Bronx and Brooklyn in the crackdown's first five nights, CBS News New York's Marcia Kramer reported.
"These are people who say, 'The rules do not apply to me. They apply to you, but not to me. I'm going to go out there and commit my robberies and I'm going to commit my crimes and I'm not going to pay my tolls,'" Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks said.
Adams focused on work, not investigations
The announcement of the new program came as the mayor is trying to show New Yorkers that the corruption investigations swirling around his administration is not distracting him from doing the people's business.
However, the officials under investigation is a certain reminder that all is not well. Former Police Commissioner Edward Caban chose to resign after his cellphones were taken by federal investigators. Others whose phones were sized include Philip Banks and brother Terence Banks and Schools Chancellor David Banks.
David Banks' partner, First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, also had her devices confiscated.
Wednesday marked the second time this week the Adams held a press conference to highlight his administration's work. Kramer said the strategy probably won't stop other politicians from trying to make political hay out of the administration's troubles. However, the mayor isn't aiming to convince them. He's trying to convince voters, who, he says, are more concerned with public safety and educating their kids.