Tuesday’s Headlines: The Real Ghost Car Crackdown Edition

Remember how we’ve been critical of the city’s “effort” to get ghost cars off the street? Well, here’s some good news: The Sanitation Department’s new “ghost car” task force — a joint operation with the previously sclerotic NYPD — is showing initial promise.

In just 20 days from Sept. 9 through Oct. 6, the new task force towed away 1,428 cars, or roughly 71 per day. (A top Sanitation official had told me at the Sept. 18 unveiling that ghost cars “are everywhere,” as if I didn’t know that!).

Here’s how the first 1,348 of those cars broke down (the deeper analysis lags the total count):

Of course, there’s so much more work left to do. For one thing, the Sanitation Department said that a high percentage of the seized cars were later claimed by their owners, who suddenly came up with the paperwork in question. The agency has previously been undermined by owners who suddenly “claim” the vehicle. Eventually, these scofflaws will learn that getting towed ends up costing hundreds of dollars.

But scammers are always one step ahead of the po-po. Even I, a newly anointed fake chaplain, know that, as you can see by this video:

In other news from a slow day in the livable streets day:

• Speaking of ghost cars, the MTA’s car seizures still seem to be mostly about unpaid tolls. (Newsday)
• Set your calendars! The hearing on the merits of the pro-congestion pricing lawsuit will be heard in state Supreme Court on Oct. 18, per Dave Colon.
• Mayor Adams had a closed-door meeting with the poohbahs of Fifth Avenue (we’re not making that up! It was on his schedule). We’re concerned that Hizzoner is about to water down the redesign of Fifth Avenue, which only two years ago was a pretty good plan that City Hall touted with nice renderings.
• The New Yorker did a long profile of Ingrid Lewis-Martin that did not mention her terrible record on street-safety projects. But in a nice little detail, the Eric Lach piece also called Lewis-Martin a “Christian chaplain,” but as Streetsblog reported on Sunday, that could mean almost anything. (Remember, mainstream media — we have her resume, if you want to see it.)
• Despite the reforms, there’s still a lot of garbage in the trash business. (Gothamist)