The story of a license plate vigilante

You Decide with Errol Louis

Some drivers in New York City are flagrantly breaking the rules, doing things like tampering with their license plates in an attempt to avoid being detected by red-light and speed cameras. The number of scofflaws defacing plates is mushrooming after the cameras started operating around the clock last August. Another workaround increasingly used by some motorists are parking placards. Hundreds of government workers and city contractors are abusing their city-issued parking placards by parking illegally, while other are using fake placards. Critics say placard abuse is costing the city over $100 million per year, and making streets and sidewalks less usable and more dangerous. Enter journalist Gersh Kuntzman, a one-man crusader who is trying to end these trends. He joined Errol to discuss his “criminal mischief” campaign, which finds him on the streets with a screwdriver and blue Sharpie marker, regularly restoring defaced license plates. He’s been capturing his adventures on video and has become somewhat of a local hero on social media. He also talked with Errol about congestion pricing, his blog Streetsblog NYC and a new campaign called “March Madness,” which takes a look at suspect parking practices at some local police precinct houses. Join the conversation, weigh in on Twitter using the hashtag #NY1YouDecide or give us a call at 212-379-3440 and leave a message. Or send an email to [e-mail].