Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today announced that the City has come to terms with the U.S. State Department on an unprecedented enforcement program to address the chronic problem of unpaid diplomatic parking violations. The enforcement program, developed in conjunction with officials from the State Department, will deter diplomatic officials from accumulating future parking violation debt, while also greatly enhancing the City's ability to collect millions of dollars in unpaid parking tickets. The City has agreed to suspend its planned towing of consular vehicles while the State Department implements the following terms of the enforcement program.

"We are extremely pleased that the State Department has worked with the City to arrive at a realistic, broad-based program that meets the City's parking enforcement and debt-collection needs," the Mayor said. "New York City's parking regulations are designed to protect public safety. In an emergency, a blocked fire hydrant or a double-parked car can mean the difference between life and death. That's why it's so important for New York City to be able to uniformly enforce its parking regulations -- regardless of who's behind the wheel."

The Mayor continued, "Denying registrations to diplomatic scofflaws will send a strong message to members of the diplomatic community that they can no longer ignore our parking regulations with impunity. Similarly, the State Department's willingness to use its formal debt collection process means that it is serious about helping the City collect on its legitimate parking violation debt."

"This agreement works to the City's financial advantage," noted Finance Commissioner Andrew S. Eristoff, who was involved in the negotiations with senior State Department officials. "Unlike the tow enforcement program which, because of diplomatic immunity, touched on only a small portion of the total outstanding debt, the new program encompasses all diplomatic vehicles and debt. As a result, the City has an excellent chance of collecting a significant share of the $20 million in outstanding debt, as well as new violation debt."

"We are gratified that the State Department worked closely with the City to devise a program that addresses the quality-of-life needs of New Yorkers and preserves the integrity of public safety," said Bradford Billet, Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Commission for United Nations, Consular Corps and Protocol, who also headed-up negotiations with senior State Department officials.

On July 24, the Department of Finance announced a new policy under which the City would seize any vehicle owned by a consulate or consular official with more than $230 of outstanding judgment debt for parking tickets issued on or after July 1, 1999. Since the City announced the new policy, originally set to take effect on August 1, the Australian Consulate, which had owed approximately $10,000, has paid its debt in full; and 34 other countries have either paid or have contacted the City to make arrangements to resolve their outstanding debt.

Countries that wish to pay their parking debt may contact either Bradford Billet, Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Commission for the United Nations, at 212-319-9300, or Michael Phillips, Assistant Commissioner for the Parking Violations Operations Unit of the New York City Department of Finance, at 718-802-4749.

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