"I'm going to keep an eye on this guy until the City actually admits that this is its policy."

how do you feel this is a good way to spend your time ?

#1: Assuming that you're a police officer, the same way you feel that you spend your time on good things - enforcing the law.

I spent a long time being annoyed by all the parking abuse in central park and elsewhere without doing anything about it. Years. Now I've decided to do something about it. I assure you I have a full, rich life. I just don't like people disrespecting and endangering me and my family with the all the illegal parking.

As for keeping an eye on the guy with the citywide permit, when Hevesi was found to have converted city resources with a market value of $100k - $200K to personal use, every newspaper covered it daily for weeks? Is this really so different? This guy is converting at least $20K a year in city resources and he doesn't even work for the city. I belong to the Central Park Conservancy, I care about Central Park and I use it all the time. I pay taxes plus I make voluntary donations to keep the park looking nice. So that you folks who have a detached house can understand, Central Park is MY FRONT LAWN AND MY BACKYARD. Get it? I don't like the city turning the park into a parking lot for this guy. You tell me whether you would just ignore it if people started parking all over the property that you used regularly for recreation.

It will be interesting to see what it's like on a non-Friday with non-wretched weather. I noticed that the legal city parking lot on my corner was about half full at around 10:15 today (it's normally overflowing).

Steve, I don't have a back yard!!! Can you marry me so I can be rich too!!

As a matter of fact cop's that transfered to a new command mid year do get get new permits... they are told to use their old one at their new command until the next year... shame you folks don't bother to look for facts

That is: cops DO NOT get new permits when they are transfered to a new command mid-year! Therefore yes, you will see plaques from an outside command parked there. Oh and sometimes officers don't get a new plaque right away, so they may even use an expired one for the first couple of months of the new year!

Hey #6 and #7, more than 50% of the cars parked in Central park at this lot have NO PLACARD AT ALL. Each day, everyday. Occasionally, there is a PBA calling card or a "NYPD" cap on the dash. Then there are the guys with permits more than 1 year expired and/or from precincts in other boros parked for weeks at a stretch. Then there's the retired guy with his two Ct cars parked long term. What's your explanation for them? Is that a system you really want to defend?

Anonymous #9, I don't have the ability to delete comments on this site. But it's obvious that you are the one who's running scared with your anonymous schoolyard insults.

I've lived in NYC my whole life and been the victim of quite a few crimes, violent and non-violent. I've never once criticized the NYPD privately or publicly for not magically being there when I needed them. Everyone knows its impossible for NYPD to be everywhere and I assume they are doing the best they can on fighting crime. Rightly or wrongly, I've never called the police after one of these crimes because it didn't seem like it would have helped anything.

I'm not just being an internet tuff guy, I'm out there documenting illegal conduct by a population that (judging from the commentary on this website) is ready to assault me if they catch me taking pictures, and probably has the ability to get away with it without punishment because they are on the inside of law enforcement. I've been confronted a number of times while taking pictures, usually in a reasonable way, sometimes in an unprofessional, hostile and even threatening way. And I'm still taking pictures. So I have no worries about my manhood. I'm doing what I think is right. You're just being a selfish jerk and reliving your own violent fantasies (experiences?) from 5th Grade.

I have enormous respect and admiration for the NYPD. HOWEVER, we all have to pay for transportation and/or parking to go to work. Central Park is for everyone and not an inch of it should be used for non-emergency police parking.

I take my 4 year-old for runs on the bridal path and it's dangerous that we have to watch out for cars. Not to mention ugly. There is a bus stop right in front of the precinct -- officers and city officials should use public transport to get to work like the rest of us.

Steve and everyone else are complaining about the police cars being parked there yet no one thinks about the all the equipment they have to take to work and the varying shifts they perform... all to keep us new yorkers safe.
the parks department on the other hand also has private vehicles at the same spot and other locations in central park as well.
parks and conservancy park their vehicles on the east drive near the zoo AND park on the sidewalk on 5th avenue near the conservatory gardens!!! not even the police do that.
when i was a victim of a crime and needed help, i didnt call the parks dept. i called the police dept.
lets just be fair and criticize ALL city officials not just the police.

Hey steve there are far more problems in the park besides the cars being on the bridal path, if u like ill tell you locations and since ur concern about ur families safety, then lets see if u can address them and how far u gonna get. For # 11 u think running in the bridal path with ur 4 year is dangerous because of the cars? U guys have no idea, but like i said before if u guys are concerned with safety, ill deirect to some troubles spots and u can address it and posted it in here. Godspeed

Given the value of parking in New York City it would be interesting what the I.R.S has to say about these additional benefits. There are hundreds of thousands of people working in the city that provide services to New York and can find parking or pay for it. After all, it's a job like everybody elses. If you can't do it or you find it too stressful there are many many others that are more than willing to fill your shoes and follow the rules that you enforse on everybody else with arrogance.

There are many comments to the effect that this is not a big problem, why do I care so much about it. Here's the deal: I don't care all that much about it. It's less important than many other things. But it's important enough to spend some time to get it fixed. And through this website there is already a marked improvement.

Up until now there has been zero parking enforcement in this spot. I watched over several years as the number of cars in this spot grew. There was absolutely nothing to stop a resident of 86th Street from parking their car here, because at least 70% of the cars had no placard.

Space became scarce and the parkers started driving up onto the embankment around the reservoir, killing all of the vegetation. The Central Park Conservancy had to spend money to put up signs and embed large rocks at the foot of the embankment pleading with parkers not to run over the plants. This portion of the bridle path became cratered with huge holes that makes it extremely unpleasant to walk or run on. There's even one guy parked here long term who works on his car on the weekend, belching exhaust while the runners are going past.

Since these pictures went up, there has been parking enforcement. Several abandoned cars that had been sitting in one spot for weeks are gone. More than half of the cars have placards (though a number of them are expired).

As far as I'm concerned, if the only vehicles parked in this spot are the ones that are authorized to park here, then it was worth the modest effort I have put into shedding light ont he problem. That's what the sign says--"Authorized Vehicles Only".

Steve,
please advise everyone that the location is called the BRIDLE PATH not bridal.
It looks like the local precinct is working to clear out the unauthorized vehicles. However the ruts and pot holes are not caused by vehicles being parked there. the holes and ruts are caused by improper drainage and overhanging trees. i jog there regularly and notice that there are no pot holes where the cars are actually parking.

It's nice that your going after the same people that one day will save your life. I would actually like to see photos of those horses that shit all over the park, especially in the cow gate area. I never saw so much shit!The riders should stop and pick it up! They shit and piss in the dirt and then I watch the same people that complain about the Police run right through it! Then the road runners throw there garbage all over and when they have to relieve themselves, piss on the side by the Police vehicles. Thank God those cars are there are else where would they go? If you care so much about the Park as you say you do, lets stop all concerts, protest and other events they cause so much damage to the grass. Do away with all the roads, we can keep all the cars out, runners, roller bladers etc. We can just have grass and trees and pretty little birds to look at.

To Davata. I would love to have the I R S look into your tax returns. Like you don't cheat! Please! And since the Police get paid like shit, give them a raise I'm sure they would take the bus or train to work! By the way most New Yorkers take there cars to work, have you seen traffic lately?

To Steve the park is not just for you. My tax dollars also go to the Park. It was your choice to live in Manhattan, so don't bitch! The Park Conservancy? Like does that make you feel important? Your donations help pay thoses crazy salaries that the conservancy gets paid. Doing what? I DON'T KNOW!!!! The Park is just that, a park, it's not anybodies backyard.

You people have no lives!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!