Uncivil Servants

The New York Times has pointed us to a new community website, Uncivil Servants that posts photos of illegally parked cars. The vehicles in question usually are taking advantage of city issued parking permits that are ostensibly issued for specific civic duties, but which appear to be used as one of those "benefits" doled out to government officials.

While Uncivil Servants is concentrating on New York and its official boroughs, the problem exists on our side of the river too. A JCLister has posted a few pictures of a police officer stationed in the BJ's parking lot prepared to write citations for folks making an illegal right hand turn, but turning a blind eye to the construction crew vehicles parked the wrong way on the one way street. Meanwhile, Hoboken411 captured similar incidents of official vehicles illegally parking on street corners. Oh, and let's not forget the Port Authority vehicles parking on the sidewalks along Jersey Avenue between 12th and 14th Streets-- forcing pedestrians to navigate between the curb and fast moving cars and trucks.

Its probably time that civil servants began respecting the laws they expect everyone else to follow. Until then though, there is always the internet to shame them.