At least 160 scofflaw drivers together owing millions in violations had their vehicles towed in Brooklyn during a Vision Zero crackdown on Friday, according to deputies from the city’s Sheriff’s Office.
The vehicles, including many Taxi & Limousine-licensed cars and dollar vans, were swept from the street and brought to Grand Army Plaza before being taken to a pound, deputies there told media.
Friday’s tow-fest targeted vehicles owing at least $2,500 in parking and moving violations but many had much larger debts. The vehicle owners will have to pay the fines to get their wheels back.
We’re looking at about $19 million of debt off Pennsylvania plates and $2 million off Texas plates alone, said a Sheriff’s deputy, who declined to give his name.
More than 100 deputies and workers at a private license plate scanning company swept major streets in the borough between noon and roughly 8:30 p.m.
One deputy said they were specifically searching for habitual speed camera and red light camera violators after Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday signed legislation that would force such drivers to go back to driving school or else lose their cars.
It’s to get dangerous drivers off the road, the deputy said.
The sting focused on arteries like Flatbush, Utica and Church avenues with assistance from Republic and Mobilization Services (RIS), a city contractor, that provides plate scanning equipment to the Sheriff’s Office, which conducts similar sweeps every 45 days or so, according to deputies.
The license plate recognition system reads the plates and tells sheriffs which cars to drag away.
The New York City marshals are riding with our team … When it’s a hit, our team will then log into our system and verify it, said RIS worker.
At 6:30 p.m., there were about 25 cars right by the park part of Grand Army Plaza, many of them clunkers, dollar vans, beat-up vehicles with out-of-state plates.
Deputies towed about 20 cars an hour during the operation actually a slow day in the field.
Oh yeah, the RIS worker laughed. That’s a small day.
