Washington Heights residents have noticed that the streets have been filled with cars bearing these temporary license plates.
“I have seen them, but in reality I do not stop at that because as one is in the swing of the day. Sometimes, even poorly done things, one sees it as normal,” said a neighbor. Someone else added: “Yes, I have seen that enough. But it is good that they find a way to see if that ends.”
Temporary paper plates are mostly from the states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Texas. According to the Police Department (NYPD) they are very similar to the temporary plates issued by car dealerships when buying a vehicle, whether new or used, but these are illegal.
At a meeting of the Public Safety Committee of the Upper Manhattan Community Board 12, a representative from Barracks 33 explained that they no longer had space to put the large number of cars they had seized in Washington Heights with these ghost plates.
And in the opinion of the inhabitants of the area: “If one must have a car or whatever, well, everything with the right, with good papers so that there is no problem.” Another neighbor said: “The illegal does not lead to anything. Everything that we walk where we should walk. Walk straight, because this country must be respected.”
With just one visit to the Facebook Marketplace, you can see a large number of these illegal plates that are sold at prices from $ 30 to $ 125 dollars.
According to the police, the illegal plates are not registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles, nor are they insured; which represents a big problem, if that car is involved in an accident. “If a car of those with a forged license plate hits me, who am I going to complain to … Nobody!”, Says another neighbor.
According to the Community Board 12, this adds a new problem for the police in the area who already work with few personnel and face an increase in crime.
Eleazar Bueno, president of this community body, explains in this regard: “Then, the monitoring that they give to vehicles that do not have their own registration, because then it becomes more difficult for the police to do their job.