Bill Terrell via the Daily News
A parking garage at a Queens mall, didn't vandalize meters, but it did the next best thing. It plastered them with “No Parking Saturday” signs and placed blockades in front of them, hoping to funnel drivers into paid spots in its lot. The fliers were neon yellow, and marked with the NYPD’s insignia, but in fact they could have been run off at a local Kinkos. "The precinct was not aware that these signs were being put up," Sgt. Carlos Nieves, an NYPD spokeman told the News. 'The only people that are allowed to put these signs up are the NYPD.'
Back in 2004 when the mall was expanding employees were given official signs to post, and afterwards, according to Queens Center Mall spokeswoman Dawn Simon, they continued to “facilitate traffic flow” on busy days by barring street parking. "Initially, the signage was provided by the Police Department," Simon said. "Rather than have them re-issue the signs over and over, we created signs."
But duped drivers were enraged. 'It's disgusting,' said Bill Terrell who took pictures of the signs and blockades. 'It's forcing you to go into the garage.' 'Why should I have to pay for the garage when I'm only going in for an hour and could just pay 75 cents?' asked another driver, Geraldine Simmons. (The garage costs three dollars for the first hour, and a dollar for every hour after that.)
Simon has promised to discontinue the signs, and so far it’s unclear whether the Queens DA will press charges. According to, Ryan Blanch of the Blanch Law Firm, the bogus signs could “warrant charges of defrauding the city or obstructing governmental administration.”
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