New York, NY – Pulled over for a traffic violation? Blame Mayor de Blasio. That’s the advice one NYPD officer gave a motorist he pulled over.
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In a video that has since gone viral, the unnamed officer can be heard saying, “Mayor de Blasio wants us to give out summonses, OK? Alright? I don’t know if you voted for him or not.” The officer reveals he does not reside in the five boroughs and thus is not responsible for the Mayor’s policies. “I wouldn’t have voted for him because this is what he wants; he wants us to give out summonses.”
The 10-second recording was captured by the driver’s dashboard camera. “I understand, I understand,” the driver responds.
As part of his Vision Zero program, the Mayor has cracked down on drivers and demanded more enforcement. Yet, according to NYPD data, summonses for motor vehicle violations have actually declined compared with the same time in 2012 during Mayor Bloomberg’s administration.
In January and February of 2012, some 197,925 moving violation summons were issued, compared with 181,892 summonses for the same period in 2016.
Neither the NYPD, nor the motorist has commented thus far on the incident or where it occurred.
If someone was in violation of the types of offenses that are a matter of safety, I have not a bit of mercy on the driver. Let him prove his innocence.
However, there are a substantial number of violations that have nothing to do with safety, or any other tangible benefit. They are only there to provide a source of funds. I can hardly imagine someone with an IQ on the positive side of zero supporting this. Can anyone explain why entire city blocks have no parking because of a bus stop? The 15 feet either side of a hydrant is also useless for fighting fires. The shuls that have no parking anytime is ridiculous. About half of parking regulations are in the imbecile category. But they make money.
I hope this stupid cop gets the ax
As parking apps become more the norm expect more traffic summonses. Parking apps allow you to feed the meter often automatically when time is up via a remote connection without having to physically be near your car. Of course its a fairer system. But it means less parking tickets and less revenue. So the city will have to make that up somehow.
cop is gone.