i don't know the scooter rules b/c i don't own one, but, just like bicyclists and motorist, ignorance of the law is no excuse. park ur vespa up on one of my bumpers and your shyt & find ur shit horizontal.

also, i love to drive downtown as much as i like to take the train. i have to be on alert against ipodders stepping into my path, but it comes with the responsibility of operating a motor vehicle in a city like this. i always find parking, i'm just patient.

ny'ers who have no driver's license and who don't obey the bike/scooter rules should STFU.

I drive a scooter (not a Vespa) and it is indeed reliable and economical way to get around Brooklyn where I live. That being said, I can park easily where I live and work and its only when going into Manhattan that I get screwed some times. Muni meters are great but there is no place for me to put my "receipt" for parking so I some time take my chances and park without paying. Otherwise, I go to a street where I can park in between cars. Parking on the side walk is illegal and so is removing your plates, period. Just like cyclists who go thru red lights without looking out for cars and walkers, so to can a few "bad" scotter riders give all scooter riders a bad name. No one is above the law. Respect everyone on the road.

You are all clueless - take a plate off a Vespa - which all are registered as a motorcycle and it becomes an abandoned vehicle just like a car. Sanitation or the NYPD has the right to remove it and impound it. Do you put your car plates on with velcro ?? - NO - and that too is illegal -(plates improperly fastened) - you want to ride vespas or motorcycles in NYC follow the rules , get a permit(no solo riding), then a motorcycle license,then you can ride, learn the proper way to ride, get insurance, a DOT helmet, glasses and also get an inspection and registration every year - and oh yeaa - stay off the sidewalk - you cant park cars on sidewalks - which are motor vehicles , a motorcycle is a motor vehicle also. FOLLOW THE RULES we all have to follow - you are not special !!!

Thanks Officer Anonymous!

Without reading the comments

It's a dog eat dog world and if they are taking advantage by illegal means then

Bang-bang shoot 'em up.

Who cares about Vespas. Vespa riders have it easy. Does anyone ever think of the pocket bike crowd who is constantly oppressed by the NYPD. How would you like it if your vehicle was thrown in the back of a squad car and confiscated?

We have a congestion problem in this city. Scooters, bikes, motorcycles, skateboards all reduce the car/taxi problem.

When bike usage picked up, the city put in place plans to encourage their use, adding bike lanes, bike racks, etc. I regularly see bikers not wearing helmets, go the wrong way down 1-ways, and run reds. I had a friend last year on a bike die this way.

I drive a scooter, and when I originally parked it on the street following the rules, cars hit it and cops said they had better things to worry about (anyone who's dealt with cops in the city know it takes a lot to make them take notice).

Somehow when scooter usage picked up, even though it's a valid solution to the congestion problem, it's just treated with class-based derision rather than welcomed.

A new vespa puts out a fraction of the pollution (the old scooters are bad, but so are old cars) and uses $5 of gas a week to get around, which is cheaper than train rides, even with the $40 insurance. So maybe the person driving the scooter is poorer?

Scooters are fast, small, and they do not wake up babies and set off car alarms when they drive by (unlike motorcycles/ice cream trucks).

The less people who cram into trains and get into cabs the less everybody here complains about train and car congestion.

Bikes are regularly clipped when locked to anything but approved bike racks.

Welcome to the club. What a terrible life we lead, oppressed by this vicious city!

Scooters, bikes, motorcycles, skateboards all reduce the car/taxi problem. Not really. All those different vehicles, traveling at different rates of speed, adds to the confusion. There's no reason to believe that a Scooter, Vespa, skateboard, whatever, is displacing a car, truck or taxi, and the increased number of moving vehicles likely leads to more accidents.

Want to reduce congestion? End new construction in NYC and eliminate rent control and rent stabilization. Double the subway fare, add a $5 per ride surcharge to taxis, and a $1000/year surcharge for any type of transportation device to encourage walking. Rents will skyrocket, and fewer people will fill our roads and subways.

What a moronic "solution." Making rents more expensive means that people won't be able to afford to live within walking or biking distance, which in turn will INCREASE congestion in the streets and public transportation.

If they had cars instead of scooters, they could make it to the hospital when their home births go bad.

Oh, forgot to add, most garages will not take scooters for the same fear of accidentally knocking over the bikes -- a small mistake leads to an expensive liability. Very few outdoor lots will allow scooters to park at any price. Of those who do, the rates are about half of a car, even though you can park four scooters in an average parking spot -- which seems disproportionately unfair.

It's more than just the fear of getting hit by parking between cars.

When a Vespa is knocked over by a careless parallel-parker (who, as we've all seen, park like driving a bumper car) the fuel backs up into the engine and if sitting on its side for too long, won't start. It's an expensive and annoying repair as it involves transporting the Vespa to the garage via pickup truck or trailer.

Also, should Driver A knock the Vespa into a Driver B's car and speed off (as they often do), the Vespa is liable for damaging Driver B's car as the Vespa owner can't prove that his/her bike just didn't fall over.

It's a tough choice to make whether or not to park on the sidewalk. I don't agree with those who remove their plates or scratch out VIN numbers. The occasional ticket is well worth the price, fair and square, of avoiding repairs and liability.

Vespa cost DOUBLE what comparable scooters made by more reputable brands (Yamaha, Honda). Anyone that drops 5k on a scooter deserves some sort of punishment.

not true

Vespa owners are above the law - and for good reason: no matter where they're going or what they're doing, they're looking good doing it or going there. That, I'm learning, is the most important thing in NYC: as long as you look good doing it you can do whatever you like. Image is the only thing important in NYC now and forever.

they should save one spot for scooter/motorcycle parking on each block, those things don't take up much.

I was in Lincoln Nebraska probably ten years ago and noticed that in a lot of the downtown area there were two motorcycle parking spaces on each block. The curb curved away from the sidewalk towards the crosswalk, and in the curved area left there would be room for a bike to park -- and a parking meter that as I recall charged half what the ones in regular spaces did.

There was also an area of a block or so near the campus (which is downtown) that was only motorcycle parking spaces. And more motorcycles in operation as a percentage of vehicles than I've seen anywhere else in the US.

Like in this space, but there's no parking meter now.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=lincoln+ne&sll=40.880295,-96.679687&sspn=16.096949,36.694336&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Lincoln,+Lancaster,+Nebraska&ll=40.812506,-96.70534&spn=0.001969,0.004479&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=40.812504,-96.705225&panoid=OY386NmDFfm9QSZGZndolA&cbp=12,20.4,,0,21.17

this is why we can't have nice things.