How long will this booted Dodge Durango sit here on 11th Street?

An EVG reader shared this photo... of a new-model Dodge Durango — parked with a boot — on 11th Street between Avenue B and Avenue C.

The boot arrived toward the end of September. The next day, the reader and a friend saw a young couple very thoroughly washing the vehicle inside and out. 

We assumed maybe they were killing time while waiting to have the boot removed. Hours later we came by again and the vehicle had been stripped clean of license plates, registration information, VIN, etc. 

The vehicle has sat here without plates and with deflated tires all of October.

Heading into November, the reader wonders how much longer the SUV will sit here. Perhaps it needs to be towed into the Avenue A bus lane to garner some city attention?

Noted (booted-Subaru edition)

After 15 days in the bus lane on Avenue A below Third Street, the booted Subaru without plates has been removed. (And please let us know if you spot it elsewhere, like another bus lane or the center of Tompkins Square Park.)

Booted in the bus lane — day 8

The Subaru with the missing plates enjoyed its eighth day booted in the bus lane here on Avenue A between Third Street and Second Street... (thanks to EVG reader Carl Bentsen for the pics!)...

And there is an addition of a windshield note today... with a phone number (not to the mayor's office!) for the Subaru owner to call if he/she can't afford to have the boot removed...

A reader said the city towed the car here from Third Street on Sept. 8 ahead of the milling.

Noted (again)

As noted on Saturday... the booted Subaru (without plates) remains booted in the bus lane (sung to the tune of "Sandy" aka "Stranded at the Drive-In") outside 35 Avenue A between Second Street and Third Street. 

A reader has said the city towed the car here and left ahead of the milling on Third Street last week. So it has been here since at least Thursday.

Saturday's opening shot

BOOTED IN THE BUS LANE! Avenue A between Second Street and Third Street. 

Shouldn't be an inconvenience for buses or street cleaners...

Updated:

An interesting theory from a reader... this car with the boot had been on Third Street, and the city towed it ahead of the milling the other night... why the tow-truck operator left it in the bus lane...?

Boot party: Why so many immobilized vehicles in the East Village?

In the past week, we've received multiple reader missives about a high number of vehicle bootings around the East Village. 

Reader Carl Bentsen said he saw three boots on one block... and we counted about a dozen or so on a recent walk...

First, why a vehicle's owner might get the boot. According to the NYC Department of Finance: 

If you do not pay or dispute your ticket within approximately 100 days, it will go into judgment. This means the City takes the legal step of entering a default judgment against you for the entire amount plus penalties and interest. The City can take steps to collect the debt, such as sending your debt to a collection agency or seizing assets. If you have more than $350 of tickets in judgment, your vehicle could be booted or towed.

And there's this rather jaunty video about how to get one removed...

   

The Department of Finance reportedly suspended the booting program on March 16, 2020. As Streetsblog reported in the fall of 2020: 

According to data provided by Republic Immobilization Services, which currently has the contract to boot the cars of drivers with multiple unpaid parking tickets, the city deactivated between 5,000 and 15,000 cars per month before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. 

The Guardian reported yesterday that the city is owed $534.5 million in unpaid parking fines.

Anyway, we don't know at the moment when the boots were returned post-March 2020 ... or why the marshal booted so many in the East Village this past week.

Mayor Koch first introduced the boot... and it went out of favor for some years before making a return in 2013.