Locals angry over booted cars in Island Park

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Some Island Park residents were angered last week as many locals discovered “boots” fastened on the wheels of vehicles parked throughout the village and Barnum Island.

Used by law enforcement as an alternative to towing, “booting” locks a car’s wheel. A vehicle belonging to a person who has been issued two or more parking or photo enforcement tickets may be booted, according to the Nassau County’s website. The booting fee is $341, which if not paid within 48 hours — along with the past-due ticket amounts — could then be towed.

The county launched its “scofflaw” program — named for the term used for vehicle owners with unpaid tickets — in 2012, and claims on its website that removing a boot is faster, easier and cheaper than retrieving a vehicle that has been towed, as it allows the owner to readily access their personal belongings in the car.

Vehicles equipped with “license plate recognition” technology scan up to 10,000 plates per day on vehicles parked on streets, according to the county, and can identify, within a fraction of a second, if the license plate is in scofflaw status.

Residents took to social media to report the discovery of more than a dozen booted vehicles on residential streets in the village and Barnum Island, as well as in the Long Island Rail Road parking lot. A vehicle cannot be booted if it is on private property.

The extra fine and inconvenience sparked the ire of some, who said on Facebook that the county should have given the violators a final notification to submit the outstanding payments. One resident advocated for a working single mother struggling financially who was hit with the $341 fine.

“Who is responsible for targeting people like her?” she wrote on Facebook. “Who don’t I vote for next time? Go after real dangerous criminals. [Don’t] target late-paying working people.”

Previously, the County would place DMV holds on the vehicle’s registration, which could prevent the vehicle’s registration from being renewed, or result in it being immediately suspended.

Although DMV holds remain in effect, scofflaws’ vehicles are eligible to be immobilized or towed through the program. If immobilized, a vehicle will receive a self-release boot, and the motorist will be required to pay all citations due, including the boot fee, before the vehicle can be released. Payment can be made over the phone 24/7 with the Boot Release Line, and those who pay over the phone may be able to remove the boot themselves.

Nassau County is using “SmartBoots,” which can be released by the driver by entering a code into a keypad on the boot device. The code is provided to the driver upon payment and his or her agreement to return the SmartBoot.

“And you have to return the shackles to your jailer!” another resident wrote. “Now I’m incensed.”

But others on social media were fine with the booting. “Follow the law like the rest of,” a local asserted, “and it won’t happen!”