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April 23, 2011
BatteryPark.TV previously reported on the problem of Parks Enforcement Patrol (Pep’s) parking their personal cars in illegal spots along the streets of Battery Park City. The PEP’s involved were disciplined, but the practice still continues.
At 10:20 AM on Saturday, April 23rd, BatteryPark.TV was notified of an ongoing traffic incident on Battery Place near West Thames. A PEP had parked his car in front of a fire hydrant. The NYPD had hooked up a tow truck and was nearly completed with the process when PEP’s Captain Falcon showed up in an electric golf cart and intervened.
The PEP officer who owns the car, and new to the Battery Park City beat as part of the staffing changes, explained that by showing his driver’s license he was able to receive a parking ticket instead of the more expensive towing fee. The NYPD tow truck operators would not comment as to why they unhooked the car and cancelled the towing process.
Given the fact that the PEP have been able to park with impunity anywhere on the streets, the fact that the NYPD issued a ticket is a change. The ongoing wider parking ticket scandal might be a factor. It would be highly unusual for a regular citizen to be able to persuade an NYPD tow truck operator to cancel the process midway through. Captain Falcon’s intervention clearly had sway in the outcome of this incident, which smacks of corruption still lingering in the ranks of the PEP who are under the management of Tess Huxley of the Parks Conservancy division of the BPCA and the city.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNAB6RFR4OY