Above the Law: Parking Permit Abuse Study Released

1:53 PM EDT on September 28, 2006

Transportation Alternatives has released a study of parking permit abuse among New York City employees (as observed in nine neighborhoods). Their press release notes the study's key findings:

Citywide, more than 3 out of every 4 permit holders (77%) use their permits illegally.
The NYPD is responsible for 46% of illegal permit abuse, by far the largest share from any single agency.
Of valid permits used illegally at the curbside (i.e. illegally parking at signs with riders forbidding that particular permit's usage), the NYPD is responsible for 63% of the abuse.
Of permit abuse that caused safety hazards, such as blocking fire hydrants, parking on sidewalks, in crosswalks, intersections, and bus stops, the NYPD again leads the way with 61% of overall abuse.
Court Officers are responsible for the majority of fraudulent permits with 54% of the total, followed by Corrections, Court Clerks, and the FDNY.

See Transportation Alternatives' website for the press release (pdf) and the full report (larger pdf), where the above photo appears.

Aaron Donovan

Before he began blogging about land use and transportation, Aaron Donovan wrote The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund's annual fundraising appeal for three years and earned a master's degree in urban planning from Columbia. Since then, he has worked for nonprofit organizations devoted to New York City economic development. He lives and works in the Financial District, and sees New York's pre-automobile built form as an asset that makes New York unique in the United States, and as a strategic advantage that should be capitalized upon.