Deputy sheriffs impound a car with an illegal paper license in Queens (NYC Sheriff’s Office)
Sept. 8, 2021 By Allie Griffin
The New York City Sheriff’s Office seized dozens of vehicles with bogus and expired paper license plates in Queens last week.
Deputy sheriffs impounded 53 vehicles with counterfeit paper plates on streets in Glendale, Maspeth, Middle Village, Ridgewood, Woodhaven and Woodside Friday as part of a citywide crackdown.
The officers also issued more than 50 summonses for a variety of parking and traffic offenses.
The sale and use of illegal and counterfeit paper license plates proliferated during the pandemic when local Department of Motor Vehicles (DMVs) were shuttered, law enforcement officials said.
The fake plates make it difficult for officers to identify suspects who speed and drive recklessly or commit other crimes.
“Vehicles with illegal paper license plates circumvent a panoply of public safety laws and regulatory programs such as speed, red light, and bus lane cameras,” NYC Sheriff Joseph Fucito said in a statement. “Illegal paper plates conceal a vehicle owner’s true identification from the police when used during the commission of a crime.”
The NYC Sheriff’s Office conducted the Queens raid from midnight to 8 a.m. Friday as part of its 5-borough operation known as “CON-Temporary.”
Through the operation, deputy sheriffs have seized 238 vehicles, issued more than 200 traffic summonses and charged 21 individuals with various crimes related to displaying illegal paper license plates on vehicles since June.
Council Member Robert Holden requested the Sheriff’s Office bring its operation to Queens—and to focus on some of the borough’s trouble spots.
“I requested this enforcement because fake and obscured plates are used to allow scofflaws to get away with reckless, dangerous driving, as well as to commit other crimes,” Holden said. “We need to make it clear that anyone who uses them will pay the price and I will continue to ask for more of these operations.”
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10 Comments
THIS IS A HUGE PROB IN BRONX THOUSANDS HAVE THESE BS TEMP PLATES TAKING UP PARKING NO INSUR FREE TOLLS GOVT DOES NOTHING
Thank you Council Member Robert Holden for applying the law in Queens. This is the first time I’ve seen any politician taking a necessary position on the lawlessness in NYC since the beginning of the pandemic. I’d also love to see bikes and e-bikes off the sidewalks.
Cops seized a bunch of cars while criminals roam the streets freely and nyers are assaulted daily for no reason.
Good now seize all those little motorcycles and electric delivery bikes speeding, running red lights, violating one way signs and running over pedestrians!
Are any paper plates legit? Can no one ever give out paper plates legally? I ask because a new neighbor has his paper plates for three months now. How can we report these cars to law enforcement or the city?
If your neighbor is a white guy, call 311. If your neighbor is a person of color, YOU’RE A RACIST!
The city created this problem by turning a blind eye to it like they do with other crimes. They are finally doing something cause these fake tags have been used in violent crimes. Broken windows policy worked in lowering crime for a reason.
Go to elmhurst , Corona, Jackson Heights, Jamaica u fine a lot more
I saw over 10 vehicles parked with paper license plates, in a 20 mins walk, this is insane ??
Finally! The police need to get working on cleaning up our streets of illegal cars, and, as importantly, all the cars parked on sidewalks and in crosswalks and bike lanes in our neighborhood. Drivers have been running roughshod over the law and decent society for too long. If you want to drive in this city, you’d better follow the rules.
And it is not lost on me that many of the perpetrators are police themselves!