New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has defended the reinstatement of large, lime green stickers placed on vehicles that violate parking laws, a measure that had been absent for 12 years. The 8.5 x 11-inch stickers, which require a scraper to remove, are being used in lieu of tickets or towing for cars blocking street cleaning operations.
Mamdani stated his support for the measure, emphasizing its importance for the Sanitation Department's work. "It is critically important that the Sanitation Department be able to conduct street cleaning," he said. "Whenever I meet the hardworking members of DSNY, the question is always how we can make their jobs easier. If this measure accomplishes that, I fully support it."
The first stickers were applied on Tuesday morning to vehicles obstructing street cleaning vehicles on W. 90th Street between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West. These stickers had been banished in 2012.
City Council member Gale Brewer, who revived the policy, noted that street cleaning is ineffective when cars are not moved. She described the warning stickers as one of the city's most effective tools for improving compliance before their previous removal.
However, the policy has drawn criticism. Former New York City Councilmember David Greenfield, who previously fought against the stickers, expressed dismay. "For 14 blissful years, these stickers were illegal in NYC because I banned them when I served in @NYCCouncil. Why? Many of drivers getting stickered were innocent and the glue wrecked their cars," he said. Greenfield further characterized the stickers as vandalism rather than a penalty.
Social media users have also voiced opposition, questioning the necessity and legality of the stickers. Comments included concerns about vandalism and whether a ticket would suffice, with some asking why cars were not simply towed.
According to the Department of Sanitation, over half a million vehicles violate alternate-side parking rules weekly. Sanitation Commissioner Gregory Anderson indicated that the $65 tickets were insufficient deterrents, stating, "For many New Yorkers, a $65 summons is simply the cost of free street parking, and our streets are dirtier because of it." Anderson also expressed a preference for automated camera enforcement but noted that state government authorization would be required.
"We hope that these stickers motivate people to move their cars. Our goal is clean streets that all New Yorkers deserve, not to use stickers nor to write tickets," Anderson added.