Nassau to boot, tow cars of red light scofflaws

Those red-light cameras clicking away at dozens of Nassau County intersections have been catching lawbreakers in droves for the past 14 months.

But many of the lawbreakers have simply been ignoring the summonses, and the county is now moving to place immobilizing boots on the most persistent scofflaws, or have their cars towed to a pound by a private contractor.

The boot and tow program, tucked into the $2.6-billion county budget for next year, is expected to raise $1 million in revenue for the county, according to budget documents.

The plan, introduced by Republican County Executive Edward Mangano and backed by all 11 Republicans and most Democrats in the 19-member county legislature, passed with a vote of 17-2 Saturday night.

The plan authorizes the county parking enforcement agency to hire an outside firm to conduct booting and towing, but towing fees and storage fees have yet to be worked out with the firm.

The camera system has spit out 321,336 notices of violations to the owners of the offending vehicles since Aug. 6, 2009, when the first of 105 cameras went into use at what now totals 38 intersections, according to John Marks, executive director of the county's Traffic and Parking Violations Bureau.

About 85 percent of the notices are answered, but about 15 percent - a bit more than 48,000 - have not, and there is a core of persistent offenders in that group, Marks said.

There are 2,235 vehicles that have gotten three or four notices and would fall under the boot and tow program, and an additional 341 vehicles which account for 2,218 notices, he said.

All of those 341 have at least five outstanding notices, some have more than a dozen and one firm has 19.

A look at the two-inch-thick printout of the nonresponsive offenders shows a lot of vehicles that appear to be registered to car rental and taxi firms and companies involved in home improvement, landscaping and similar trades.

"Certainly, passing through a red light is one of the most dangerous things you can do," Legis. Judy Jacobs (D-Woodbury) said. "Ignoring three tickets for doing it is an affront to the people of Nassau County."

Mangano said the size of the scofflaw problem, "demonstrates the consistent and ongoing disregard of the Red Light Camera Law and the need for a strong deterrent. Immobilizing and removing such scofflaws' vehicles will provide the necessary deterrent."