HARLEM (WPIX)—
Two days after PIX 11's Greg Mocker exposed government workers using placards to block fire hydrants, the New York Police Department appears to be attempting to fix the problem and some members of the department are very unhappy."Don't get hit by a bus, ---hole!" was the shout Mocker heard Thursday from a window in the NYPD Police Service Area 6 building, home to most of the people who've been blocking hydrants with their personal cars. On the sidewalk, one man who identified himself as an undercover NYPD officer told Mocker he was "irresponsible" for reporting on the illegal parking/fire-safety hazard.
Perhaps contributing to the general unhappiness around Police Service Area 6 is the fact that the NYPD took steps in the wake of Mocker's reports to prevent department employees from blocking fire hydrants.
Throughout the surrounding neighborhood, Mocker found metal barricades and traffic cones creating protective zones around fire hydrants so cars couldn't block access. Additionally, Mocker spotted a NYPD traffic agent recording placard numbers for cars still parked illegally.
Mocker was first alerted to the parking calamity in the 140s near Frederick Douglass Boulevard by residents who were frustrated by illegally parked cars preventing street cleaning and creating problems in the event of a fire emergency.
In addition to NYPD vehicles, Mocker found employees of the New York State Police and New York City Departments of Sanitation, Parks, Transportation, and Education were also misusing their parking placards. And he caught one man who said he was an MTA employee using a forged placard.
A spokesman for Mayor Bloomberg said the situation was unacceptable. "Placards are for vehicles on city business and should not be misused or abused," Jason Post said via email Tuesday, while making it clear Bloomberg has cracked down on the NYPD. "In 2009 the Mayor cut the number of placards given to city works by 50% - and he had the NYPD create a special unit within IAB to only go after the misuse and abuse of placards."
