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Eyes on the Street

Eyes on the Street: Madison Square Ped Space Invaded

madsquareputz.jpg

"Have placard-bearing drivers begun their own reclaiming of reclaimed public space?"

That is the question posed by Streetsblogger ddartley, who last week snapped these photos of a city government vehicle parked in the new Madison Square pedestrian plaza. He got just close enough to spot the placard behind the windshield when:

This guy wearing some sort of NYPD uniform showed up and got in anddrove off. Okay, it's not like he was committing murder or anything,but every time a cop breaks a law for all to see, it's just a littlemore poison in the world. This suggests that even after these fancy newpedestrian-only plazas have been built, they are under threat frombeing parked on by placard-bearing NYC employees who remain, at leastas far as parking, 100% completely above the law. Well, for now!

It's surprising, really, that it's taken this long for such behavior to come to light. What can, or what should, DOT do to nip it in the bud?

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