We already knew that parking placard abuse has been running rampant in the city for ages (heck, cops' moms are abusing them) but the Daily News and Transportation Alternatives today prove just how absurd the situation has gotten. Using little more than Photoshop and a laminator they were able to park all over town, free of charge. Again. more ›

Did you know the NYPD has "Integrity Control Officers"? They're the ones who make sure the NYPD acts with complete integrity, monitoring problematic officers and making sure the police don't abuse overtime or sick time. And as the NYPD's conduct shows, the Integrity Officers are doing such a stellar job one hardly ever notices they're there—until one of them screws up like Sgt. Edward Taveras, who has besmirched the NYPD's sterling reputation by letting his mom use a copy of his parking placard. more ›

If it wasn't bad enough that there are thousands of city workers getting away with using illegal parking placards to park wherever they want without getting a ticket, it turns out there's a little-known perk that gives politicians the ability to get out of car jail for free every time: no matter how many tickets a politician gets, their official cars will never get hauled off to the pound. more ›

The 144,160 parking placards registered in the city inventory have been reduced by over 25,000, Deputy Mayor Edward Skyler announced yesterday. The cutbacks are targeted at what many frustrated drivers see as an abuse of a system that lets police, teachers and civil servants park for free at meters and many off-limits areas. Initial cuts have focused on the 80,770 placards issued to 68 city agencies, exempting the 63,390 placards used by the Education Department. more ›

Turns out the number parking placards sloshing around New York is over 142,000, twice the number guesstimated by Mayor Bloomberg’s office when he announced a 20% cutback on the placards, which allow police, teachers and civil servants to park for free at meters and many off-limits areas. The new total does not take into consideration the number of counterfeit and expired placards, and the city is still not done counting, so this preliminary total is expected to increase even as they try to decrease it! more ›

Mayor Bloomberg has announced that the city will crackdown on the abuse of parking permits issued to civil servants, reducing the overall number by 20%. The change comes after the Post revealed in November that “149 separate government entities had qualified for the coveted placards last year, ranging from the state lottery to the US Navy recruiting office, which was allocated an astonishing 110 permits.” more ›