City Council proposed bill would incentivize New Yorkers to report illegal parking
BOERUM HILL, Brooklyn (WABC) -- A newly proposed bill would reward New Yorkers for calling in illegal parking complaints, but that isn't sitting well with some drivers who often find parking in the city both painful and expensive.
New York City Councilmember Lincoln Restler from Brooklyn is laser-focused on illegally parked cars.
He is sponsoring a bill that would effectively deputize any and all New Yorkers to report illegal parking.
"This would empower the citizen to gather the evidence themselves, submit the information to the dot and have the ticket issued accordingly," Restler said.
But not all New Yorkers are fond of the bill.
Joseph Pressley of Brooklyn found a legal spot Tuesday, but parking on the streets of New York can be painful and expensive.
"I park my car on the street. Run and get son from school. I come out I get a ticket on my car. It's ridiculous," Pressley said.
Pressley has more than $2,000 in outstanding tickets.
He does not believe the answer is more aggressive ticketing.
"Young people getting killed for no reason. That's what we should be worried about. Not worried about no// parking cars. That should be least of your worries," Pressley said.
On Tuesday, cars at a Brooklyn bus stop forced the B63 to pick up passengers in the street instead of at the curb.
"If we had legislation in place, we would issue violations for these individuals who are parking illegal," Restler said.
For every civilian ticket that pans out, the person reporting it would be paid $44.
The NYPD says the proposed law will pit neighbor against neighbor.
"The hard-working traffic enforcement agents are assaulted dozens of times per year after issuing summonses. This law would outsource that risk to everyday New Yorkers," the NYPD said.
"That's right. People are going to get hurt. I think they should leave it to the traffic agent. Not to regular civilians like myself," Restler said.
In the first half of this year, 6.2 million traffic violations were issued.
The bill's sponsor, who does not own a car in New York, hopes to schedule a hearing in a few months.
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