Harsher penalties for Islip Town parking scofflaws

The Town of Islip is getting tough on scofflaws.

The town board on Tuesday amended its code to intensify the town’s parking rules by adding harsher penalties for drivers who ignore parking citations.

The changes allow the town to place a vehicle on a scofflaw list after it receives four or more parking violations without its owner entering a plea, appearing at a hearing or making payment within 30 days.

A vehicle on the scofflaw list that is parked in a public right of way within the town can be booted or towed. Once booted or towed, the vehicle will be held until full payment has been made for all fines and penalties.

“We’re not going to have millions of dollars [of unpaid tickets] sitting in a drawer and not addressing it,” said Councilman Steven J. Flotteron, who spearheaded the changes.
The code changes follow last year’s parking violation amnesty program, which netted the town $350,000 in unpaid tickets.

“Failing to respond is not an option, and it’s time violators take the town seriously,” Supervisor Tom Croci said in a statement.

Additionally, the code change allows the town to enter a default judgment with Suffolk County for failure to pay and can prevent “repeat violators” from renewing their vehicles at the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, town officials said.