[BenFranklin100]

Source? It’s illegal in all 50 states to obscure a license plate. I visit NYC frequently, and I don’t recall any obviously obscured plates. It beggars belief a significant fraction of automobiles are sporting fraudulent plates too.

[woodruffw]

I live in a dense part of Brooklyn, and I would estimate that 3-5% of all of the cars I see on my daily commute (by bicycle) have defaced, obscured, or illegal paper plates.

If you want to see evidence of this yourself, I'd recommend stopping by the 78th precinct. NYC's finest have many creative examples to offer.

Edit: A recent article on the phenomenon[1]. It's hard to get statistics for this kind of thing, since the NYPD has demonstrated a tactical indifference towards it.

[1]: https://hellgatenyc.com/ghost-car-license-plates-illegal-but...

[ornornor]

> NYC's finest have many creative examples to offer.

Am I understanding you correctly that the police staff themselves use illegal or obscured plates on their private vehicles which they park at the police employees parking lot, with no consequences whatsoever? If so this is insane.

[woodruffw]

> Am I understanding you correctly that the police staff themselves use illegal or obscured plates on their private vehicles which they park

Yes[1].

> at the police employees parking lot

Nope, they park illegally on the sidewalk instead[2]. This includes on blocks with public schools[3].

> with no consequences whatsoever? If so this is insane.

Yes, and yes.

Edit: I forgot to mention: documenting any of this comes with a risk of fines or arrest[4]. You will also be ignored if you attempt to report it[5].

[1]: https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2023/02/01/are-police-disciplini...

[2]: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-12/mapping-t...

[3]: https://www.vice.com/en/article/3ak54k/how-one-brooklyn-neig...

[4]: https://hellgatenyc.com/nypd-try-to-illegally-park-then-tick...

[5]: https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2021/10/25/nypd-ignores-council-...

[ornornor]

This is surreal. Is there no due process? Couldn’t someone go to court over this and above the police?

[woodruffw]

Yep, it is surreal. It’s one of the many ways in which the NYPD communicates its utter lack of respect for the city it’s meant to protect.

I’m not aware of a court case that has tried to fight this, probably in part because of procedural challenges (the NYPD spans 5 boroughs with 5 different court systems, standing is unclear, etc.). Unfortunately, the city’s courts probably just aren’t equipped to handle this kind of en masse, “mild” collective punishment by law enforcement itself.

[raisin_churn]

I noticed it when I was in Brooklyn two months ago. In DC, where speed and stop cameras are the only form of traffic enforcement and where the bus cameras are also being piloted, the proportion of cars with fake (temp Maryland tags printed on a library printer) or obscured plates is probably approaching 10% of vehicles on the road, and 90% of routine reckless drivers. If NYPD demonstrates a studied indifference to public safety, DC MPD is doing a post-doc in the field.