Friday’s Headlines: Ghost Car Crackdown Edition

12:03 AM EDT on April 14, 2023

Temp tags are everywhere.

Whaddya know?

A reader of Streetsblog, knowing our obsession with illegal temporary tags and people who cover or deface their plates, tweeted at us that cops in Brooklyn took 26 such cars off the street the other day:

@NYPDnews amazing team work!!! 26 vehicles with illegal plates already removed from McDonald Avenue and Ft Hamilton Parkway in Brooklyn 🙌 @GershKuntzman @StreetsblogNYC pic.twitter.com/YbN1TLEUj8
— Debbie H (she/her) (@HerDebbie2) April 12, 2023

We were surprised that the NYPD didn't trumpet its good work, so we reached out to the press-shy agency and was told the following by an equally press-shy "spokesperson":

On Wednesday, April 12, 2023, the NYPD conducted a joint operation with the Chief of Department and Patrol Borough Brooklyn South. As a result, there were 26 vehicles towed for a variety of violations including vehicles including ones with expired temporary plates. This year the NYPD has towed more than 1,700 ghost cars.

The agency didn't provide any more info. Nor has it broken down the "ghost cars" it's towed away. But it's a start.

In other news:

Our former Deputy Editor Eve Kessler had a big score in Vital City, making the case for why walkability matters. It does!
In today's entry in the most insane thing we've ever heard contest, a group of car owners in The Bronx is protesting a city plan to start charging for parking in a city-owned lot that has been free for far too l0ng. The parking lot is right at a subway station, but residents claim that paying for parking is onerous (one even likened it to rape!). They even marched against the supposed injustice. (News 12, The City)
Meanwhile, the Daily News offered sympathy for teachers at an Upper West Side elementary school who are getting ticketed for their illegal parking. Sorry, but that neighborhood has two subway lines and five bus routes in walking distance. And sorry not sorry, but just because you work for the city doesn't mean the city has to provide you with parking to enable your anti-social behavior.
The new PATH trains are here! The new PATH trains are here! (NYDN)
The hit-and-run driver who ran a red light and killed Hua Pan earlier this month in The Bronx surrendered to the cops ... yet was not even charged! (NYDN)
The bike bus movement is hot, says amNY.
Pete Buttigieg is still stalling on congestion pricing. (amNY)
The long process of reimagining the Cross Bronx Expressway is under way. (Bronx Times)
This is true public service journalism: Gothamist goes undercover to explore — and eat — the $29 Zabar's ham sandwich.
In other crucial sandwich news, Hell Gate explored why a turkey sandwich at the airport costs $15.
And, finally, meet DJ Combat Park: