TOTALLY

BOGUSA Study of Parking

Permit Abuse in NYC

*Permits above depict a ratio of city-wide permit use:

43 percent permits used legally vs. 57 percent used illegally
CONTENTS
3-4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

5-6 PURPOSE AND METHODOLOGY

6 DETAILED CITYWIDE RESULTS

7 DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN

8 CIVIC CENTER, MANHATTAN

9 JAMAICA, QUEENS

10 CONCOURSE VILLAGE, THE BRONX

11 ST. GEORGE, STATEN ISLAND

12 RECOMMENDATIONS

13 REFERENCES

2 TOTALLY BOGUS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
NEW YORK CITY MADE SWEEPING CHANGES TO THE CITY’S FREE PARKING
SYSTEM for government workers in 2008. The number of parking permits was
slashed by 46 percent, to 78,000 permits. By handing out fewer parking passes each
year, the City is encouraging more civil servants to ride public transit, easing traffic
congestion while freeing up parking spots for others.
Despite the reduction in city-issued parking permits, the system remains broken.
Each step in the process—from creation of the permits, to distribution and
enforcement—is fatally flawed, creating a system wrought with abuse and lacking
effective oversight.
In the present study, researchers at Transportation Alternatives canvassed five
New York City neighborhoods and found that a majority of permit holders—57
percent—were either agency permits used to park illegally—double-parking or
ditching their cars on sidewalks and bus lanes, or totally bogus permits. The study
found that 24 percent of permits on display were illicitly photocopied, fraudulent or
otherwise invalid.
Clearly, further reform is needed. Modernizing New York City’s
two-tiered parking system can help local businesses by freeing up
space for customers and deliveries. It can boost the City’s bottom
line by increasing meter collections. It can even make the City safer
by increasing the odds that police will flag suspicious vehicles, like
the van that parked for two days in Times Square last year with no
license plates and a bogus permit until the NYPD’s bomb squad
arrived. Finally, parking permit reform is necessary as a simple
matter of fairness for residents unable to find parking in their
Car with agency permit parked neighborhoods.
illegally in a bike lane and on The study focused on five neighborhoods where concentrations of city, state and
the sidewalk.
federal offices have led to ongoing complaints from residents about parking abuse:
Downtown Brooklyn; Civic Center in Manhattan; Jamaica, Queens; Saint George,
Staten Island and Concourse Village, the Bronx.

KEY FINDINGS

• 57 percent of the permits in the survey were either legal permits used
illegally or illegitimate permits.
• One in four permits was a fake, suggesting that citywide there are at least
10,000-25,000 thousand fraudulent permits. (That’s more fake permits
than the 12,000 New York City yellow cabs).
• Manhattan’s Civic Center neighborhood led the survey for highest rate of
permit abuse; less than 5 percent, or 11 of 244 permits surveyed were being
properly used.

3 TOTALLY BOGUS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

T.A. highlighted the problem of government workers using permits to park

illegally in our 2007 report, Above the Law. This earlier study found that 77 percent
of drivers were using their permits to park illegally, wherever, whenever. The
current study confirms that the problem persists—with 57 percent of drivers using
legitimate and bogus permits as a park-anywhere-they-want-for free pass. This
form of permit abuse leads to more cars cruising for scarce parking spaces and
prevents delivery vehicles from reaching the curb leading to more double-parked
Bogus parking permit vehicles. It degrades air quality for New Yorkers, leading to added health risks for
in the windshield. asthma, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Finally, illegal permit parking erodes the
public’s trust in government and law enforcement.
The problem of bogus permits, also identified in the 2007 study, is still rampant.
Bogus permits include official-looking permits unrecognized by the City,
photocopies of real permits, expired permits and personal effects masquerading
as permits: transit vests, patrol manuals and even a sheet of paper scrawled with
the letters “NYPD.” In the case of the bomb scare in Times Square last year, the
Dodge van that came under suspicion had tinted windows and no plates but a
permit on its windshield claiming that its driver was a detective in the crime unit of
“Metropolitan New Jersey and New York,” a nonexistent agency. The phony permit
fooled the NYPD for two days, accounting for the agency’s slow response, NYPD
spokesman Paul Browne later admitted.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Add bar codes to parking permits. Bar codes, those black stripes
used by businesses to track product inventory, would vastly cut
down on fraud. With a quick swipe, parking enforcement officers
would be able to tell the real permits from the fake. In February
2011, City Councilmember Dan Garodnick introduced a bill that
would require all new parking permits to contain bar codes,
bringing the system into the electronic age.
2. More enforcement of illegal and bogus permits. The NYPD and
DOT, the two agencies that jointly oversee city-issued permits,
need to send a message that improper use of parking permits
will not be tolerated. The NYPD should ticket employees who
park illegally—with or without a permit—as well as anyone posting
phony permits or personal effects on their dash to evade parking
laws.
3. Annual tracking of permit use and abuse. The NYPD and DOT
should release a report each year tallying the number of permits
issued and violations handed out. Annual tracking will allow the
public to tell how much enforcement is happening and whether
it is making a difference.

4 TOTALLY BOGUS
 PURPOSE AND METHODOLOGY
RESEARCHERS AT TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES SURVEYED FIVE NEW
YORK CITY neighborhoods to find out if Mayor Bloomberg’s parking permit reforms
have cut down on abuse. In 2008, Bloomberg cut Department of Education permits
by 83 percent and remaining permits by 32 percent, leaving a total of 78,026 permits.
Bloomberg also authorized just two agencies — NYC Department of Transportation
(DOT) and NYPD—to issue permits. Additionally, the NYPD was ordered to create
a permit enforcement unit with “enforcement procedures to prevent the abuse of
placards.”

“ Double-parking can bring

streets to a standstill, but
But anecdotal evidence suggests that permit abuse is as bad as ever. From Jamaica
to Brooklyn Heights, residents continue to complain about a two-tier parking
any laminated dashboard system that “adds a sense of lawlessness in the community,” according to Michael
card can usually ward off Burke of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership. Businesses suffer from diminished
parking spaces and loading zones.
hefty fines.
”
—COUNCILMEMBER LEROY
Why is illegal parking so common among permit holders? The evidence suggests
that there are too many cars for too few spaces. According to a Lower Manhattan
COMRIE, DISTRICT 27,
SOUTHEAST QUEENS
parking study by the DOT and the New York City Economic Development
Corporation, “vehicles with law enforcement permits use 127 percent more space
hours than are designated for them from 9AM-5PM.” A Schaller Consulting study,
Top 10 Drive-To-Work Census Tracts in Manhattan, found that “government workers
are twice-as-likely to drive to work than private sector workers.” With so few
parking spaces available and an incentive to drive to work, permit users double-
park or leave their cars blocking fire hydrants, sidewalks, bus lanes or at un-fed
meters. According to Councilmember Leroy Comrie, the result is traffic mayhem.
In Jamaica, Queens, “double-parking can bring streets to a standstill, but any
laminated dashboard card can usually ward off hefty fines,” said Councilmember
Comrie.
Why do some many New Yorkers use fraudulent permits? Though it may not be
explicit policy, the NYPD’s traffic enforcement division essentially operates under
the premise that citywide there is a “no hit” policy on vehicles with permits in the
window. Permit abusers talk of the NYPD extending a “courtesy” to agencies to
break the law.
In January, T.A. revisited its 2007 study sites to find out if the reduction in parking
permits had translated into less abuse.

5 TOTALLY BOGUS
PURPOSE AND METHODOLOGY

METHODOLOGY RESULTS
Because so many permits are issued • 1450 Total permits used legally and illegally
by city, state, and federal agencies, • 57 percent Agency permits used to park
and so many others are fraudulent, illegally or totally bogus permits (820)
this study was unable to document • 33 percent Agency permits used to park illegally
permit abuse on all city streets. (477)
Therefore, this study is a snapshot of • 43 percent Permits used legally (630)
systemic problems. • 24 percent Bogus (343)
On Wednesday, January 20,
2010, volunteers with Transportation TYPES OF BOGUS PERMITS
Alternatives fanned out across • 63 percent Union (215)
four neighborhoods: Downtown • 8 percent Xeroxed (29)
Brooklyn; Civic Center in Manhattan; • 9 percent Fake (32)
Jamaica, Queens and Saint George, • 11 percent Expired (38)
Staten Island. A fith neighborhood, • 8 percent Personal effects masquerading
as permits (29)
Concourse Village in the Bronx, was
surveyed months later, on Tuesday,
August 24, 2010.
OVERVIEW OF RESULTS
T.A. analyzed the permits according • 57 percent of agency permits used to park illegally
to the following criteria: or were totally bogus permits
• T he number of legal permits • One in four permits was bogus
used legally • 8 percent of permits were personal effects thrown
• The number of legal permits on a dashboard
used illegally • Manhattan’s Civic Center neighborhood led the
• Total permits used illegally survey for highest rate of permit abuse; less than
5 percent, or 11 of 244 permits surveyed, were
• Number of counterfeit permits
being properly used.
• Types of counterfeit
permits

CITY-WIDE RESULTS
Agency Permits Types of Bogus
Permits
820 343
used to park illegally &
Total Legal Bogus Permits
and Illegal 1450
57% 58% 63%
Permits Agency Union
used 43% permits 42%
Permits used Bogus
illegally
used to park 11%
legally illegally Expired 8%
9% 9% Personal effects
Fake Xeroxed masquerading as permits*

*Personal effects including but not limited to transit vests, patrol

manuals and even a sheet of paper scrawled with the letters “NYPD.”
6 TOTALLY BOGUS
 NORTH

COMMUNITY PROFILE OF
PERMIT ABUSE:

584 Total permits used
legally and illegally

43% (254) Permits used legally

of total permits

57% (330) Permits used illegally

of total permits

21% (124) Bogus permits

of total permits

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN
CENSUS TRACTS
9, 11, 13 , 25, 27, 37, 41, 43

STREETS SURVEYED
Livingston, Schermerhorn, State, Pacific, Gold, Pearl, Jay, Bridge, Duffield,
Lawrence, Court, Adams, Smith, Hoyt, Nevins, Bond, Montague, Pierrepont,
Middagh, Boerum, Remsen, Joralemon, Clinton Streets; Red Hook Lane; Aitken
Place; Atlantic Avenue; Brooklyn Bridge Boulevard; Cadman Plaza

FACILITIES IN THE AREA

• Brooklyn Borough Hall: 209 Joralemon Street
• Main Post Office, Brooklyn: 271-301 Cadman Plaza East
• Main Courthouse: 360 Adams Street
• 84th Police Precinct: 301 Gold Street
• NYC Fire Department and EMS: 9 Metrotech Center
• Brooklyn Family Court: 238 Adams Street
• NYC Transit Headquarters: 370 Jay Street
• Department of Motor Vehicles: 10 Metrotech Center
• Brooklyn House of Detention for Men: 275 Atlantic Avenue
• Brooklyn Hospital Center: 121 DeKalb Avenue

Agency Permits Types of Bogus

Total Legal
and Illegal 584 used to park illegally &
Bogus Permits 330 Permits
124
43% 57% 62% 65% 11%
Permits Permits Agency Union Personal
used used permits 38% effects
illegally legally used Bogus masquerading
to park as permits*
illegally
9% 9% 6%
Expired Xeroxed Fake

*Personal effects including but not limited to transit vests, patrol

manuals and even a sheet of paper scrawled with the letters “NYPD.”
7 TOTALLY BOGUS
 NORTH

COMMUNITY PROFILE OF
PERMIT ABUSE:

244 Total permits used
legally and illegally

5% (11) Permits used legally

of total permits

95% (233) Permits used illegally

of total permits

38% (92) Bogus permits

of total permits

CIVIC CENTER, MANHATTAN

CENSUS TRACTS
21, 33

STREETS SURVEYED
Elk, Center, Chambers, Reade, Duane, Thomas, Worth, Leonard, Franklin Streets;
West Broadway; Broadway

FACILITIES IN THE AREA

• City Hall
• The Municipal Building: 1 Centre Street
•  olice Department Main Headquarters: 1 Police Plaza
P
• Federal Plaza: Broadway between Worth and Duane Streets
• U.S. Courthouse: 40 Foley Square
• Surrogates Court, Municipal Archives: 31 Chambers Street
• Tweed Courthouse: 52 Chambers Street
• New York City Department of City Planning: 22 Reade Street
• Engine 7, Ladder 1: 100 Duane Street
• Satellite Academy: 51 Chambers Street

Agency Permits Types of Bogus

Total Legal
and Illegal 244 used to park illegally &
Bogus Permits 233 Permits
92
95% 61% 41%
Permits Agency Union
used permits 39%
illegally used 12%
5% Bogus
to park 19% Personal
Permits illegally Fake effects
used 16% 12% masquerading
legally Expired Xeroxed as permits*

*Personal effects including but not limited to transit vests, patrol

manuals and even a sheet of paper scrawled with the letters “NYPD.”
8 TOTALLY BOGUS
 NORTH

COMMUNITY PROFILE OF
PERMIT ABUSE:

188 Total permits used
legally and illegally

41% (78) Permits used legally

of total permits

59% (110) Permits used illegally

of total permits

15% (29) Bogus permits

of total permits

JAMAICA, QUEENS
CENSUS TRACTS
238, 240, 244, 276, 446.01, 446.02, 460

STREETS SURVEYED
88th, 89th, 90th, 91st, 146th, 153rd, 160th Streets; Archer and Jamaica Avenues;
Sutphin Boulevard

FACILITIES IN THE AREA

• 103rd Police Precinct: 168-02 91st Avenue
• Engine Company 233 and Ladder Company 176: 82-68 164th Street
•  ueensborough Public Library, Central Branch: 89-11 Merrick Boulevard
Q
• Kings Manor Museum: 90-04 161 Street
• Hillcrest High School: 160-05 Highland Avenue
• Jamaica High School: 167-01 Gothic Drive
• P.S. 86: 87-41 Parsons Boulevard
• P.S. 182: 90-36 150th Street
• Mary Immaculate Hospital: 90-10 150th Street
• Jamaica Station: Sutphin Boulevard and Archer Avenue

Agency Permits Types of Bogus

Total Legal
and Illegal 188 used to park illegally &
Bogus Permits 110 Permits
29
59% 74% 54% 21%
Permits Agency Expired Personal
used 41% permits effects
Permits
26%
illegally used masquerading
used Bogus
to park as 21%
legally illegally permits* Xeroxed
4%
Union

*Personal effects including but not limited to transit vests, patrol

manuals and even a sheet of paper scrawled with the letters “NYPD.”
9 TOTALLY BOGUS
 NORTH

COMMUNITY PROFILE OF
PERMIT ABUSE:

262 Total permits used
legally and illegally

60% (157) Permits used legally

of total permits

40% (105) Permits used illegally

of total permits

27% (71) Bogus permits

of total permits

CONCOURSE VILLAGE, THE BRONX

CENSUS TRACTS
59.01, 59.02

STREETS SURVEYED
158th, 159th, 161st, 162nd Streets; Sherman, Walton, Sheridan, Grant Avenues;
Grand Concourse

FACILITIES IN THE AREA

• Bronx Borough Hall: 851 Grand Concourse
• Bronx County Courthouse: 851 Grand Concourse
•  ronx Borough President’s Office: 851 Grand Concourse
B
• Yankee Stadium: East 161st Street and River Avenue
• New York Public Library, Melrose Branch: 910 Morris Avenue
• Montefiore Medical Center: 305 East 161st Street
• P.S. 35 – Franz Siegel School (K-4): 261 East 163rd Street
• P.S. 156 - Benjamin Banneker School (Pre K-6): 750 Concourse Village West
• Cardinal Hayes High School: 650 Grand Concourse
• Bronx High School for Law, Government and Justice: 244 East 163rd Street

Agency Permits Types of Bogus

Total Legal
262 105 Permits
71
used to park illegally &
and Illegal Bogus Permits
60% 49% 51% 63%
Permits Agency Bogus Union
used 40% permits
Permits used 8%
illegally
used to park 11% Personal
legally illegally Expired effects
9% 9% masquerading
Fake Xeroxed as permits*

*Personal effects including but not limited to transit vests, patrol

manuals and even a sheet of paper scrawled with the letters “NYPD.”
10 TOTALLY BOGUS
 NORTH

COMMUNITY PROFILE OF
PERMIT ABUSE:

172 Total permits used
legally and illegally

52% (89) Permits used legally

of total permits

48% (83) Permits used illegally

of total permits

26% (45) Bogus permits

of total permits

SAINT GEORGE, STATEN ISLAND

CENSUS TRACTS
3

STREETS SURVEYED
Hyatt, Bay, Hamilton Streets; Central Avenue; Stuyvesant and St. Mark’s Places;
Richmond Terrace

FACILITIES IN THE AREA

• St. George Ferry and Bus Terminal: 1 Bay Street
• Staten Island Borough Hall: 10 Richmond Terrace
•  taten Island County Courthouse: 18 Richmond Terrace
S
• Borough President’s Office: 120 Borough Hall
• 120th Precinct: 78 Richmond Terrace
• The Staten Island Museum: 75 Stuyvesant Place
• The Richmond County Bank Ballpark: 2025 Richmond Avenue
• The United States Coast Guard Station: 1 Bay Street
• New York Public Library, St. George Branch: 5 Central Avenue
• St. George Station Post Office: 45 Bay Street

Agency Permits Types of Bogus

Total Legal
and Illegal 172 used to park illegally &
Bogus Permits 83 Permits
45
52% 54% 76%
Permits Agency Union
used 48% permits 46% issued
illegally
Permits used Bogus 2%
used to park 16% Personal
legally illegally Xeroxed effects
4% 2% masquerading
Fake Expired as permits*

*Personal effects including but not limited to transit vests, patrol

manuals and even a sheet of paper scrawled with the letters “NYPD.”
11 TOTALLY BOGUS
RECOMMENDATIONS
PARKING PERMIT ABUSE CONTINUES TO BE A CITYWIDE PROBLEM. There are
fewer permits out there, but still not enough spaces to go around. As a result, more
than half of the drivers in our study used their permits to park illegally. Leaving cars
in bus lanes, bike lanes and on sidewalks jeopardizes public safety and sets a double
standard that erodes the public’s confidence in government. While this problem
may have declined in some neighborhoods since our last study, illegal parking
in Manhattan’s Civic Center actually increased. Also troubling is the apparent
proliferation of bogus permits. Our researchers counted twice as many phony
permits in this study than in 2007.
To reduce parking abuse, New York needs to modernize its parking permit system.
The current permits are little more than laminated strips of paper. Any union or
association can easily mint their own official-looking parking pass. Putting bar
codes on permits can stop this abuse. With one quick swipe of the scanner, traffic
agents would be able to weed out bonafide permits from the bogus.
Transportation Alternatives has three recommendations to the City to further
reduce parking permit abuse: bar codes on permits, added parking enforcement and
an annual permit tracking system. By modernizing its system, the City can crack
down on the worst offenders—those passing off phony permits. And by redoubling
its parking enforcement efforts, the City can free up added parking for shoppers,
collect more revenue from meters and send a strong message that parking rules
apply to everyone. Finally, a tracking system will provide New York City’s parking
permit system with a sense of order and accountability.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Bar codes on permits

2. Enforce the law
3. Annual inventory and permit tracking report

12 TOTALLY BOGUS
REFERENCES
i. Del Signore, John. “Unofficial Parking Placards Still Fooling Traffic Agents,” Gothamist, (October 12,
2010): http://gothamist.com/2010/10/12/non-official_parking_placards_still.php.
ii. Kemp, Joe. “Local leaders blame use of city placards for parking crunch in Jamaica” Daily News
(March 23, 2010): http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2010/03/23/2010-03-23_puts_the_
jam_in_jamaica_space_hoggers_placard_abusers_turn_shop_zone_into_a_park.html.
iii. Widdicombe, Lizzie. “Dashboard Divas,” The New Yorker (January 18, 2010): http://www.newyorker.
com/talk/2010/01/18/100118ta_talk_widdicombe.
iv. Goldberg, Sally. “A Walk in the Park: Bogus Permits Work,” New York Post (July 27, 2009): http://
www.nypost.com/p/news/regional/walk_in_the_park_bQ7THO31kkGgknscwmDHHO.
v. Beck, Graham T. “Scaling Back Free Parking Privileges,” Gotham Gazette (January 26, 2009): http://
www.gothamgazette.com/article/fea/20090126/202/2809.
vi. Del Signore, John. “Make Up a Fake Parking Permit, Park Wherever You Want!” Gothamist (July 27,
2009): http://gothamist.com/2009/07/27/make_up_a_fake_parking_permit_park.php.
vii. Shapiro, Julie. “City’s Downtown Parking Numbers Justify Residents’ Years of Yelling,” Downtown
Express (April 4-10, 2008): Volume 20, Number 47.
viii. Neuman, William and Baker, Al. “No Parking Spot? Here Are About 142,000 Reasons,” New York
Times (March 6, 2008): http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/06/nyregion/06parking.html.
ix. Seifman, David. “Downtown overrun with Parker Posers,” New York Post (March 15,
2008): http://www.nypost.com/p/news/regional/downtown_overrun_with_parker_posers_
meVsseN4OE8LxWpPsjQDOI.
x. “Free Parking, Congested Streets: The Skewed Economic Incentives to Drive in Manhattan,” Schaller
Consulting (March 1, 2007): http://www.schallerconsult.com/pub/index.html.
xi. “Above the Law: Government Parking Permit Abuse in New York City,” Transportation Alternatives
(September 28, 2006): http://www.transalt.org/newsroom/releases/134.
xii. “Uncivil Servants: A Survey of Government Worker Parking Abuse in NYC’s Chinatown and Civic
Center,” Transportation Alternatives (April 2006): http://www.transalt.org/files/newsroom/reports/
uncivil_servants.pdf.

13 TOTALLY BOGUS