Here's the second vehicle of the retired DP&R Deputy Commissioner, for which the city has issued a second "citywide" placard, so the holder can park BOTH of his Connecticut-plated vehicles smack in the middle of Central Park. This is the Lexus; the Mazda SUV is here:
http://nyc.uncivilservants.org/post/index/647

Both of these cars are parked on the bridle path in Central Park all the time, for weeks at a stretch, since at least November 2006.

How can DP&R fail to see the cost--in terms of the use and enjoyment of the parks--in handing out free passes to ex-employees to park their personal vehicles in the parks, year after year?

I am intrigued by the mindset of individuals such as this placard holder who have devoted many years of service to parks, and then go and ruin them by parking their cars in them. I did a little research and here's what I found:

This placard holder and his former boss (the retired Commissioner of DP&R) run an organization called "NY Civic"
(http://nycivic.org/staff.html). According to the website: "Part watchdog, part cheerleader, part fundraiser, part whistle-blower, part trusted advisor, part muckraker, part think tank, part consciousness-raiser, New York Civic takes an active role in outlining and defining public and civic life in its myriad forms."

"Muckraker" NY Civic recently held a public forum entitled: "NYC Parks and Cars: Can They Coexist?" (http://www.nycivic.org/events.html). The forum was ostensibly neutral and balanced, including a representative of T.A. (well-known for its opposition to cars in Central park).

It is questionable to me that this placardholder would posture as a "think tank" or "muckraker" in sponsoring a forum addressing the seemingly open-ended question of whether parks and cars can coexist, when he is parking his personal cars in the middle of the park everyday.

It is apparent that the "cheerleader" aspect of NY Civic is in ascendance when it comes to the questions of cars in the parks. Here's what NY Civic ultimately had to say about T.A.'s car-free parks advocacy:

"We agree with the majority of Transportation Alternatives' initiatives, and believe the group is of significant value to New York. But on this issue [of cars on the Central Park loop] we dissent from the politically correct. So far, the anti-car ideologues have not accepted any kind of compromise on cars in the park. Their hatred of the automobile, as a symbol of the machine age, as a consumer of gasoline and oil, as a legacy of Robert Moses, as a dangerous, noisome, odiferous, and obnoxious juggernaut, is unrequited by the city's efforts to reduce traffic and preserve residential neighborhoods at the same time."

See the full article here: http://www.nycivic.org/articles/060606.html

The hypocrisy of these these ex-bureaucrats cum "muckrakers" is also apparent in other opinion pieces posted on their site. Elected legislators are vilified as corrupt, rank-and-file public employees are chastized as greedy, and ex-Comptroller Hevesi is protrayed with sympathy:

"Lawmakers, Lawbreakers" (http://www.nycivic.org/articles/060828.html): "The cliché about the Legislature being a den of thieves looks all too true these days."

"Work for NYC; Retire in Your 40's"
(http://www.nycivic.org/articles/060823.html): "The sordid situation of the state's craven elected officials in both parties catering to politically powerful public employee unions and unilaterally imposing hundreds of millions of dollars of pension obligations on city taxpayers is contemptible."

"Hevesi, Hounded, Haunted, Abandoned by Associates, Struggles for Survival":
(http://www.nycivic.org/articles/061031.html): "[Hevesi] is no ordinary public figure, but a person of unusual gifts. Sadly, he has some not so unusual flaws, and more sins may come to light as the result of vigorous investigation."

I think this placard holder and his cronies could better spend their time mucking out their own stalls, rather than beating their breasts over the alleged corruption of others. I wonder . . . If a retired DEPUTY Commissioner gets two year-round citywide placards in perpetuity for his personal vehicles as a perk of retirement, together worth about $20,000 a year at market rates, then what does a retired PARKS COMMISSIONER get?