District 15 City Council Member Oswald Feliz introduced a bill earlier this year to curb the proliferation of fake license plates by increasing fines for those who sell or use fraudulent paper plates. Feliz told Norwood News on Friday, Aug. 4, New York has seen a drastic increase in the sale and use of such plates. This appears to have gotten worse since 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and many administrative offices were closed to the public.

 

In a June 2023 hearing, Feliz said the NYPD said the department has lost its biggest tow pound and does not have enough space now to tow “ghost cars.” He said because of this, he introduced another bill to require that the NYPD obtain additional towing space so they can continue to enforce traffic laws.

 

In addition, because different states have different practices and rules when it comes to registering vehicles, Feliz and his colleagues have also sent a letter to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, recommending steps to help address the issue. He said NYC must improve enforcement but given many plates are from other states, federal action was also needed, as laws in some other states were more relaxed.

 

In their letter, officials said cars using paper plates cannot be easily traced, posing a street safety threat to New Yorkers. “These cars are being used to violate traffic laws without accountability, since they can avoid speed cameras, red light cameras, and other parking rules; and are being used for other major crimes,” they wrote. “They are also being used to illegally avoid tolls enforced by cameras.” They added that the MTA was also losing “tens of millions of dollars every year” due to toll evasion through fake paper plates.

 

They recommended that only dealerships that actually sell vehicles be granted the right to issue paper plates, saying current rules allow the creation of shell car dealerships in states like Texas, New Jersey, and Georgia which, they said, do not sell cars. They said last year a fake Texas dealership sold more than 700,000 fraudulent plates, while adding that other states prevent fictitious dealerships from licensing, by requiring them to have an actual physical space for the sale of cars, to have cars available for sale, and to provide state officials on-site inspections to confirm the validity of dealership information.

 

They further recommended that the length of time for which paper plates are valid should be reduced to no more than 20 or 30 days, as is currently the case in states like New York and Rhode Island. They said some states provide paper plates for periods as lengthy as 90 days.