Car Booting At An All Time High

By Idy Perl

Police are putting boots on the ground in more ways than one. 

Car booting numbers are at a record high this year for the first time since the end of the pandemic, with 74,975 cars booted so far in 2024. 

 A spokesperson for the NY Department of Finance said that the high booting numbers are due to a backlog of tickets that were issued during COVID. At that time many penalty fees were suspended, and booting wasn’t taking place, so law enforcement are now going after those unpaid tickets. 

Drivers who fail to pay $350 or more in ticket fees are at risk of getting their car booted and towed if it stays unpaid. If the car isn’t retrieved the city can auction them off. 

With the new automated ticketing cameras recently installed on many city buses, drivers are encouraged to be on top of paying their tickets to ensure that they don’t get booted.