These scofflaws are going out on a limb.
Brazen Big Apple drivers – including city employees — have been spotted around town obscuring their license plates with autumn leaves to evade tolls, and red-light and speeding cameras.
“You could tell right away [it’s intentional] if you’re doing 70 miles an hour and that leaf is sticking to the plate,” said Daniel DeCrescenzo Jr., president of MTA Bridges and Tunnels.
Motorist watchdogs have posted on social media videos and photos of cars with leaves — and even whole tree branches — affixed to license plates with glue or tape.
“It angers me deeply, as there have been one too many times that my life has been on the line, only to see someone drive away with, of course, an obstructed plate,” Brianna Brooke, a veterinarian technician, told The Post.
After a silver car with a branch affixed to its plate speeding to beat a red light almost crushed Brooke earlier this month, she shared on Reddit a picture she took of a black BMW in Forest Hills, Queens, with a leafy branch tucked through the license plate frame.
The scofflaw foliage season seems to be “relatively new,” according to Twitter account Bike Lanes NYC. The motorist monitor said they’ve counted at least eight cars sporting leafy cover-ups so far this year, often in the Downtown Brooklyn area.
One car spotted near the courts had a fake maple leaf on its plate — and a district attorney parking placard on its dashboard.
“Most of them they know they’re not gonna get caught by police or the traffic enforcement agency,” the Twitter user said.
Drivers who intentionally mask or deface their licenses to avoid tickets or tolls can face a $300 fine. The city has repeatedly launched crackdowns over the years on motorists’ bizarre and extreme attempts to avoid cameras reading their tags.
Mayor Adams in July announced a concerted effort by law enforcement to bust “ghost cars,” or those with expired or fake license plates. In December, the City Council passed legislation banning the sale of toll-beating covers and introduced legislation this session requiring that DOT report cars evading red lights and speed cameras with unreadable license plates.
“It’s a safety issue, it’s an issue in terms of [city] revenue, it’s an issue in terms of ensuring we have safe streets and holding people accountable,” said Council Member Selvena Brooks-Powers (D-Queens), who chairs the transportation and infrastructure committee.
The MTA has lost $19 million through Aug. 31 this year because of unreadable license plates.
The city has seen summonses for obstructed plates plummet in 2022, down to 5,430 through October, compared to 10,656 through Oct. 2021, per police data.
