Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Chinatown

Daily News Busts Govt Employee Valet Parking Racket

11:22 AM EDT on August 8, 2006

tripleparker.jpg
Triple-parked cars of government employees in front of the "The Tombs" in Lower Manhattan

State Court officials have turned Mulberry Street in Chinatown into their own private parking lot, valet service included. Today's Daily News has a great article on the scam. Every morning two uniformed State Court officers block off the street with orange traffic cones allowing only their fellow employees to drive in and park their private vehicles -- on the sidewalk. From The News:

When The News first arrived at 7:45 a.m. last Tuesday, bright orange cones lined the west side of the street, reserving the precious parking spots for court employees with special parking placards. When court employees arrived, one of the two state court officers sitting in an unmarked car would jump out and remove the cones. The drivers would then glide into their reserved spot, parking halfway on the sidewalk, which is illegal.

After the Daily News picked up on revelations of illegal government employee parking in Streetsblog a couple of months ago about, Mayor Bloomberg promised to fix the problem.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Analysis: Everyone Agrees — Less Parking Means More Housing

Let's take a second-day look at Mayor Adams's "City of Yes" zoning proposal to do away with mandatory parking in new developments.

September 25, 2023

What is the Life of a Dead Pedestrian Worth?

A cop laughed that a normal person is only worth $11,000 — and that figure was partly due to his racism, but also how little we value the lives of people on foot.

September 25, 2023

Monday’s Headlines: ‘What is Up With All These Flip-Flops, Mayor?’ Edition

It's the same old story with this mayor and his chief adviser, Ingrid Lewis-Martin. Plus other news.

September 25, 2023

Why Sustainable Transportation Advocates Need to Talk About Long COVID

Covid-19 transformed many U.S. cities' approach to sustainable transportation forever. But how did it transform the lives of sustainable transportation advocates who developed lasting symptoms from the disease?

September 24, 2023

Analysis: ‘Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program’ is a Failure By All Measures

The Department of Transportation wants the Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program to simply expire in part because it did not dramatically improve safety among these worst-of-the-worst drivers and led to a tiny number of vehicle seizures.

September 22, 2023
See all posts