June 22, 2008
Cops Complain: No Placards, No Peace!
A number of police unions representing different segments of the NYPD filed a joint complaint against the City with the Board of Collective Bargaining, saying that Mayor Bloomberg's effort to cut the number of park-anywhere-you-feel-like placards is an economic hardship and a violation of state labor laws. The suit does acknowledge that there is nothing in union contracts regarding the issuance of placards, however.
One of Bloomberg's anti-congestion initiatives has been to reduce the vast number of parking permits that allow drivers to park on sidewalks, next to hydrants, in spots both legal and illegal--basically wherever one wants--with impunity. The number of placards issued to police personnel has been trimmed by approximately 20,000.
A recent study showed that on the Upper West Side of Manhattan alone, drivers wander 366,000 miles each year simply looking for a place to park. That's the equivalent of a trip to the moon. Ticketing for illegal parking is not equal throughout the city. Jackson Heights, Queens is the neighborhood to visit to accrue the pricey paper windshield adornments.
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In my neighborhood the cops from the local precinct park in the crosswalks; in front of fire hydrants; basically wherever they damn well please. No tickets, of course. And no tickets when they violate the alternate side parking rules. But if a neighborhood resident parks an inch too close to a hydrant they get a ticket. What's especially galling is when you see these very parking scofflaw cops writing parking tickets. Cops should abide by all the laws.
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Yeh Bingo you told it like it is. Not to mention the cops coming down on Latino types doing 40's outside their local bodegas.
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Sure makes sense. illegal parking = racism. I get it. Die white yuppie scum.
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Oh Bingo, what do I do?
I'm a white cracker yuppie who enjoys their Sunday bagel (with schmear, no lox thanks), and while I don't drive a Volvo, I do occasionally double-park. I don't know how the bus can ram me back to Crackerville, USA, though, since, well, I was born and raised in NYC. Could it just, perhaps, gently nudge my car back home? That would certainly save me some money on gas.
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Everybody would win if the Smart car was used more widely in the city (assuming you desperately needed a car to begin with and NYS legalized perpendicular parking). More parking, traffic space and gas for everyone. They could even use Smarts for NYPD cruisers. Of course, they'd have to get the Brabus turbocharged version and even then, it wouldn't be as fast as regular cruisers. But how many high-speed chases does NYPD get into anyway? There's no room to transport prisoners, but they can always call for a transport van. And considering how much gas costs nowadays, converting their fleet to Smarts could save hundreds of thousands, maybe millions every year.
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thankfully Pb is still cheap.
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Give the good cops that do good deeds the placards and make the bad cops abide by the rules or pay the fines. That way, if you see a cop car parked funny with a placard, you feel like he at least earned it.
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f*ck these pigs
end ALL placards
take the f*cking train like the rest of us
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They should all walk to work. They could use losing a few pounds.
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IS taking the train not good enough for these fat pigs?
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I have no problem with cops using their plaques to park at the precinct. Also, in a job with unpredictable overtime why can't they use it next to their residence within reason? As long as they keep it off hydrants, sidewalks, in crosswalks, and bus stops, what is the problem? Street cleaning spots, no parking anytime and no standing except trucks loading/unloading spots are okay in my view. Clearly everyone who has posted here hates cops, but mostly their parking practices do not effect you. I park near the hospital I work at in a No Standing Except Trucks Loading/Unloading with my placard and I never get a ticket. I never park on the hydrant or in a crosswalk or on the sidewalk. Everyone seems to be okay with that and appreciate the job that we do as EMT's and Paramedics.
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EMT. Get a real job and stop sponging off every one else. Walk, bike or take public transport to work and stop getting a free pass.
I can see giving a free public transport pass to those that work for the city, but I am sure those workers will abuse those rights also. It's just a matter of time when they can figure out how they can fuck the city for more. It's the nature of the beast.