NYC ‘ghost cars’ more likely to drive dangerously and owe fines, report finds

Across New York City, drivers of cars with illegal out-of-state license plates or no plates at all are more likely to have outstanding tolls and fines, speed in school zones and block fire hydrants, according to a new City Council report.

The report found these “ghost cars,” as they’re commonly called by city officials, make it difficult for authorities to enforce the law because of their harder-to-trace nature. The vehicles also occupy limited parking space and cost the city millions of dollars in lost revenue each year. A previous city comptroller analysis estimated that number at more than $100 million.

“It’s one of these issues, kind of like smoke shops, that all New Yorkers Yorkers have noticed these plates crop up, and then there wasn’t much enforcement, so they get away with it,” said Councilmember Gale Brewer, who represents the Upper West Side and chairs the Council’s investigations committee. “And now it’s exploded.”

Local and state officials have touted stepped-up enforcement against ghost-car drivers in recent months, but Brewer said more “targeted” efforts are needed to remove the cars from city streets. She called for more coordination among different agencies around ghost-car hotspots, and more tow pounds where those vehicles can be taken.

Investigators surveyed more than 3,500 parked vehicles across 50 square blocks citywide, chosen because of their NYPD precincts’ high shares of tickets for cars with out-of-state plates. Nearly 770 lacked New York plates — and almost a third of those had temporary plates, no plates or plates that did not match the vehicle registrations, according to the report.

The Bronx had the highest concentration of ghost cars, at 30%, followed closely by Brooklyn and Queens, at 28% each. Staten Island and Manhattan had far lower concentrations, at 15% and 1%, respectively, investigators found.

According to the report, vehicles with mismatched plates or missing registrations owed about two-and-a-half times more in unpaid fines than those with plates matching their registrations. They also had significantly more violations for speeding in school zones and blocking fire hydrants.

Fraudulent plates and registrations are available to buy online, helping scofflaws evade motor vehicle laws, the Council found. Investigators reviewed listings for expired government-issued plates, replica plates and sketchy registration services advertised to New Yorkers.

“There are so many games that can be played with license plates, not only covering it, not only having what we look at as a paper, but a real fake license from another state — too many opportunities for fake licenses,” Brewer said.