The incident raises questions about how city workers are held to traffic rules: Streetsblog New York City reported that two Department of Sanitation vehicles were parked in a 125th Street bus lane with their red and blue lights flashing while occupants went to get food. The report said plastic bags covered the vehicles’ license plates.
The account was based on an Instagram video posted Wednesday, October 14, by an anonymous account, according to Streetsblog New York City. The outlet said the plate covers appeared intended to prevent bus-lane tickets while the officers were at lunch.
Streetsblog reported that, when confronted, one officer identified himself as Police Officer Lewis and removed the bag covering his vehicle’s plate. A higher-ranked, white-shirted officer also removed the cover from the second vehicle, which had a parking placard on its dashboard. The officers reportedly did not act on a bystander’s request to fix their plates.
One Car Had Already Racked Up 29 Tickets
Streetsblog said records for the black agency vehicle showed 29 tickets over the prior year. Most were for blocking bus lanes; the record also included violations for blocking bus stops and other parking infractions, as well as one red-light ticket and two school-zone speeding tickets…