Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Department of Sanitation

City Employee Actually Faces Punishment For (Pretty Blatant) Placard Abuse

It was this kind of thing.

It's our December donation drive. Please give from the heart (and wallet) by clicking the logo above.
It's our December donation drive. Please give from the heart (and wallet) by clicking the logo above.

One down, thousands to go.

A city employee who stole a placard from his workplace and used it in his own personal vehicle was sanctioned by the city's Conflict of Interest Board, in a placard abuse case so egregious it would have been a scandal to ignore it.

In a decision handed down by the COIB on Thursday, Department of Sanitation employee Carlos Rodriguez admitted that he stole a DSNY police placard and used it in his own personal car in November, 2017. According to the case disposition published on Thursday, Rodriguez admitted to stealing the placard in order to park his car illegally on a street near his house.

Rodriguez was eventually suspended by DSNY for three days, a punishment valued at $928. The COIB signed off on the punishment, stating that the ethics board found it comparable to other instances of employees misusing placards.

Of course, Rodriguez is just the tip of the placard iceberg. There are over 140,000 city-issued placards sitting on the dashboards of police, firefighters and other city employees' cars, and their casual misuse has inspired an entire Twitter account devoted entirely to documenting the illegal parking that the placards inspire. A much-ballyhooed plan by Mayor de Blasio to deal with placard abuse is still in its infancy, with the public still waiting for the debut of the Department of Transportation's 10-person team devoted to cracking down on misusing placard parking privileges in Downtown Brooklyn and lower Manhattan.

In one positive development, Streetsblog reported exclusively on Thursday that cops who blow through the city's red light and speed cameras are putting their own placards at risk (in addition to the lives of New Yorkers). Under a new city policy, every precinct's Integrity Control Officer will have to factor in tickets from the cameras, in addition to moving violations handed out by humans, when reviewing an officer's driving record before their placard can be renewed. If the officer has too many points and moving violations, bye bye placard privileges.

It's a big deal because officers have been able to evade punishment because cops rarely write tickets against other cops. But cameras don't play favorites.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Congestion Pricing Dream Lives On After Two Judges Rule in MTA’s Favor

New York won two major victories in court on Monday after federal judges declined to put the skids on congestion pricing's Jan. 5 launch — and hinted that they don't think the lawsuits to stop the program will succeed.

December 23, 2024

Streetsblog Year in Review: The Biggest Sustainable Transport News of 2024

It was a busy year in the movement to end car dependency — and there's a lot more to come.

December 23, 2024

Astoria to NYPD: Stop These Excessive Police Chases

The NYPD's 114th Precinct must eliminate "unnecessary" police chases through mostly residential Astoria because they have "dramatically reduced" public safety with very little upside, a Queens community board said last week.

December 23, 2024

Monday’s Headlines: Meeting Across The River Edition

Garden State transit advocates implored New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy to do the right thing. Plus more news.

December 23, 2024

OPINION: Can Regional Governance Break New York Out of Its Constant State of Transit Emergency?

The New York region needs to fundamentally change the way it governs its transit system, our contributor writes.

December 20, 2024
See all posts