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Councilman Wants To Crack Down On Phony Parking Permits

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Councilman Dan Garodnick is spearheading a campaign to crack down on phony parking permits, calling it a matter of safety, congestion and fairness.

1010 WINS' Stan Brooks reports: Bogus parking permits

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"It is shocking that the number of bogus permits out there are may be equal to the city's entire yellow taxi fleet," said Garodnick. "That is a lot of cars that are getting free parking, taking up metered spots and in some cases, just simply clouding the law."

Armed with a report that shows one in four parking permits in the city are fraudulent -- that's anywhere from 10,000 to 25,000 -- Garodnick says his bill would put a stop to this dangerous practice.

WCBS 880's Rich Lamb With City Councilmen Dan Garodnick

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"We'll put a barcode on genuine city-issued permits and remove all doubt as to whether anything on the dashboard that looks like a permit is, in fact, a permit," said Garodnick.

A Staten Island gallery owner says drivers with illegal permits are killing business.

"Our neighborhood becomes a park-and-ride for commuters which include the relatives and friends and anybody who can get their hands on a borrowed placard or a piece of paper," he said.

Garodnick has been the lead sponsor on the parking permit reform bill since 2006 and introduced the Authentic Permit Act earlier this year.

Do you think this bill will help solve the city's parking problems? Tell us what you think…

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