Despite Crackdown Warning, Numerous Cars With Placards Found Parked Illegally Near Schools
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio's crackdown on rampant parking permit abuse by city officials is so far a no-go.
As CBS2 Political Reporter Marcia Kramer found, some school personnel are still ignoring the rules.
CBS2 found a mountain of abuses Friday, after Mayor Bill de Blasio gave school officials 50,000 new permits and then tried to deal with the blowback by ordering the NYPD to ticket and tow the violators.
Multiple drivers with placards were spotted parking in no standing zones, and in zones where signs read, "no parking anytime."
At the Terrence Tolbert Educational Complex on West 133rd Street, there were several drivers apparently seeking special treatment -- using clearly illegal placards in the form of letters addressed to "dear Department of Transportation agent."
In the parking lot at Chelsea Prep, there were at least five cars with no permits at all.
A big question, Kramer reported, is why school personnel thought it was OK to park on the sidewalk. There were numerous drivers who did so, and none were ticketed.
Kramer's survey did not sit well with two schools safety officers at one Harlem school. They tried to shoo her away even though she was on a public sidewalk.
Kramer confronted the security officers and asked them why they were parked on the sidewalk. They walked away without comment.
Kramer reported she also found that ticketing was a tale of two cities. A car without a placard in a no standing zone at LaGuardia High School got a $115 ticket, but the car behind it had a placard -- and had no ticket at all.
The driver who received the ticket was calling foul.
"I think it's really unfair. I think it's unfair that I get a ticket and nobody else does," said Ryan Chavez of the Upper West Side. 'I mean, I know I was in the wrong, but if everybody else is in the wrong, they should also get ticketed."
Kramer confronted Mayor de Blasio about the issue this past Wednesday.
Kramer: "Are you really going to tow cops' and teachers' cares and really, really going to do it?"
De Blasio: "Sure."
Kramer: "Why?"
De Blasio: "Because it's against the rules."
"If that's the case, then they should crack down on it for real," Chavez said.
Told of CBS2's findings, the mayor's press secretary referred CBS2 to the Police Department. The NYPD said it is still in the process of implementing the new enforcement procedures.