The NYPD and the city’s Department of Sanitation have removed more than 73,000 “ghost cars” and illegal motorized vehicles from streets since Mayor Eric Adams took office, officials said Wednesday.
That figure includes around 20,000 “ghost cars” and 53,000 illegal and unregistered motorized scooters, bikes and ATVs, City Hall said in a release.
More than 5,000 of the 20,000 were parked “ghost cars” cleared by a task force the city launched in September, the release noted.
“The days of operating these illegal ghost cars with impunity are over,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news briefing. “We are listening to New Yorkers who are telling us loud and clear that they want these vehicles off of their streets and out of their neighborhoods.”
“They want them towed, they want them seized, and they want them gone,” Tisch added.
“Ghost cars” are vehicles that use altered or forged license plates, making them untraceable by traffic cameras and toll readers.
At the briefing, Adams said “ghost cars” and illegal motorized vehicles pose a threat to public safety.
“We stated that this city would not be a city of chaos and a city of just people doing whatever they want, and we zeroed in on these vehicles,” he said.
“These cars… not only are they used to circumvent, paying their fines and tolls, but they also are part of the hit and runs. They're part of the robberies that we see,” he added. “They're part of the illegal pursuits that we see. Just very arrogantly attempting to believe that the law does not apply to them.”
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch had a message for anyone operating an illegal vehicle.
“If you drive a ghost car, scooter or moped you will be pulled over and when necessary, you will be arrested, and the vehicle impounded. Or if you park a ghost vehicle anywhere in our neighborhoods, we will remove it," she said at the briefing.
The update comes as congestion pricing is set to go into effect on Jan. 5 for drivers who head into Midtown or lower Manhattan.