The following is from DNA:
As many as 200 undercover NYPD cars are on the streets without proper Department of Motor Vehicle registrations because of a bizarre battle with the city’s Finance Department over $1 million in unpaid tickets owed by cops, DNAinfo.com has learned.
Each of the NYPD scofflaw vehicles is carrying at least three unpaid tickets on its record within an 18-month period, sources said. And they also say the number of unregistered NYPD cars in use in violation of state laws is mounting every week as the two city agencies squabble over the tab.
The issue stems from unmarked cop cars that get slapped with summonses for parking illegally or are caught on tape running red lights in intersections under surveillance in the city’s Red Light Camera Program.
“The whole thing is insane,” one law enforcement official said. “This is one city agency wanting to collect money from another city agency, but everyone is under the same financial umbrella.
“It’s a debacle,” the official said.
Debacle or not, the two sides could not be farther apart.
The situation actually dates back to a decision Mayor Michael Bloomberg made in 2008 to crack down on motorists who were abusing official parking placards in congested Manhattan and around courthouses and government buildings.
At the time, City Hall quickly realized an astonishing 150,000 placards had been issued to 68 government agencies and the Board of Education. The mayor ordered that number slashed by at least 20 percent. And he also demanded the city root out abusers who were parking at bus stops, fire hydrants and crosswalks which, of course, included the police, who were major offenders.
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