Here we go again. After countless allegations of fraud and abuse of police parking placards, a new report indicates that some 22,000 parking decals for disabled drivers are missing, and they might have fallen into the wrong hands. According to city Comptroller John Liu, the massive number of missing permits means there could be a lucrative black market for the handicapped stickers. "Fraudulent permits are easily created using these seals," he said. more ›

Two days after a second devastating fire destroyed several businesses in the Norwood section of The Bronx, a Mercedes Benz registered to controversial State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr. was observed illegally parked in front of a fire hydrant with a Police Vehicle Identification placard in the window. The Benz was noticed by Boogie Downer, whose photos were then picked up by the permanently galled Uncivil Servants blog (which specializes in photos of parking placard abuse). Police parking permits are not typically issued to legislators, and parking at a hydrant is illegal at all times, even for those with official permits. more ›

Former MTA board member Alan Friedberg got so busted today by the Daily News, which is running photos of him illegally parking his bloody Jaguar with a police-issued parking permit on the dashboard. (For added indignation, the photographer caught him standing by the car with his sneering, fur coat-clad wife.) Like other past and current MTA board members, Friedberg was supposed to turn in the placard last year, but on Sunday he was spotted parking in a restricted zone on 43rd Street. He says it was only for a few minutes so he could check out a demonstration against Israel's invasion of Gaza. Of course, the abuse of parking perks has long been a hallmark of "public service"; who could forget City Planning Commissioner Dolly Williams's infamous Porsche park job in Park Slope? Or MTA board member Nancy Shevell's illegal SUV parking while she got her nails done? more ›

In a few days the city will begin its promised crackdown on the glut of parking placards issued to civil servants. But according to Uncivil Servants, a website that documents illegally parked cars displaying city permits, employees of Park East, an Upper East Side synagogue, have been using bogus DIY parking placards for years. And since they don’t even work for the city, their privileges won’t be affected by the new rules. more ›