NYPD tow truck drivers say they're being pressured to meet a quota of four tows per shift—or else they're punished with less overtime, assigned undesirable shifts, or have their time-off requests delayed. One veteran driver tells the Post, "You have to get your number. That's it. If you don't get that number, you know that when you roll into the pound, the bosses will be all over you." Another source says, "If it's a judgment call, we'll frequently go against the driver for that reason. It's screw them or screw me. Either way, someone's getting screwed." As of early July, 69,419 cars were towed this year, putting the NYPD on track to impound 138,838 vehicles by year's end. There was a 13 percent increase in tows between 2007 and 2008, for a grand total of 136,632. At the Manhattan tow lot, incensed driver Elizabeth Gillies of the Upper West Side tells the Post, "It's disgusting, absolutely beyond disgusting. It's been getting bad lately. They have no respect for people." But an NYPD spokesman Ed Mullens insists it "is absolutely not true" that there is four-car per driver quota, and denied any policy of screw or get screwed. more ›

The Daily News has an entertaining story today about the possibility of the five-block radius surrounding the Empire State Building becoming a sort of Bermuda Triangle for cars. Apparently, a number of cars have to be towed from that area every day, which makes people suspicious. The common denominator: the ESB.

“We get about 10 to 15 cars stuck near there every day,” said Isaac Leviev, manager of Citywide Towing, the AAA’s exclusive roadside assistance provider from 42nd St. to the Battery. “You pull the car four or five blocks to the west or east and the car starts right up.”