Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Car Culture

Parking Permit Abusers Being Cleared from Chinatown?

A Chinatown tipster sent along these remarkable pictures yesterday of what seems to be an effort to cut down on placarded vehicles clogging the neighborhood's streets:

There are white paper signs posted on lamp poles and parking meters that say "No Permit Area, Tow Away Zone." Lo and behold, there are hardly any cars with placards. The only way that this could have happened is for there to be an internal memo that was circulated as well. (Permit parkers would normally tear the sheets off and park anyway without a memo that they got already.) Please note that the pictures of Mott Street show a LOT of empty metered parking spaces at 11:30 am! That is amazing since those spaces are normally occupied by placard vehicles. This just goes to show that without placard cars in Chinatown there are many more parking spaces for the public and for business deliveries.

chinatown2.jpg

Of course, not every placarded parker was obeying the directive, as the second picture shows.

Anyone else see any signs like this in Chinatown or elsewhere?

Related:

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

STATE OF EMERGENCY UPDATE: Road Travel Ban Begins at 9 P.M. On Sunday, LIRR Suspended

No travel on roads after 9 p.m., though Streetsblog's Emergency Weather Desk is now predicting 12 to 14 inches as of 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. Check back for updates.

February 22, 2026

Gov. Hochul Just Says ‘Way-No’ to Driverless Cabs Across NYS

The governor made the shocking choice to reverse her budget proposal that allowed companies like Waymo to expand throughout the state.

February 20, 2026

Friday Video: How Many ‘Better Billion’ Plans Are There?

Apparently, there are lots of better ways to spend $1 billion.

February 20, 2026

Friday’s Headlines: You’ve Gov To See It For Yourself Edition

South Bronx anti-highway advocates want Gov. Hochul to come see the site of her proposed Cross Bronx widening for herself. Plus more news.

February 20, 2026

SEE IT: Placard Corruption at Antonio Reynoso’s Brooklyn Borough Hall

The progressive darling promised to end the rampant practice of illegal parking around Borough Hall — but has continued to issue unofficial placards that enable it.

February 19, 2026

Thursday’s Headlines: Set Our Calendar Edition

The next four weeks are setting up to be the World Cup tournament of the livable streets movement. Plus other news.

February 19, 2026
See all posts