It pays to snitch.
That's according to a new bill introduced Thursday in the New York City Council in which New Yorkers will be financially rewarded to report an illegally parked car.
If passed, the legislation would allow people to report anyone parking in bike lanes, bus lanes, or crosswalks. The city would then give anyone who filed a report a cut of the fine if the driver is found guilty of the violation. The bill would also raise fines for illegal parking from $115 to $175.
"Placard abuse remains a scourge on our city streets despite repeated efforts to bring it to an end," NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson said Thursday in a tweet. "This new bill would give New Yorkers the power end placard abuse through real time crowdsourced reporting and appropriately harsh penalties."
The city's Department of Environmental Protection already has a similar program where individuals who witness and record a truck or bus idling can file a complaint online and collect 25% of the penalty -- $87.50 of a $350 fine.
Two thousand complaints poured in last year. The city paid out a total of $175,000 dollars in rewards to those who filed complaints
