Sunday, April 20, 1997
Mayor Giuliani yesterday said he would take back 20 more parking spaces newly set aside for foreign envoys as he stepped up his attack on federal officials for modifying a crackdown on scofflaw diplomats.
Giuliani announced the action as he accused the State Department of caving in to “moaning” United Nations diplomats angry at the parking brouhaha.
“What happens is that they are very strong and assertive when they meet with us,” Giuliani said of the State Department, “then when they go back and somebody at the UN yells at them, they change their mind.”
State Department officials could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Giuliani vowed to step up the pressure by yanking the 20 parking spaces. On Friday, he took back 30 other spaces, out of 110 the city promised to set aside for UN missions under the original plan to make the diplomats follow parking regulations — and pay their tickets.
“I’m not going to give them the same 110 spots if they’ve cut the deal in half,” Giuliani said. “If they’ve taken away the enforcement mechanisms, there’s no way they are getting those spots.”
State Department officials said on Friday that the city action could complicate efforts to solve the parking dispute.
The city and State Department agreed to the initial crackdown in an effort to stop illegal parking by UN dignitaries and their staffs and force scofflaw diplomats to pay millions of dollars in unpaid summonses. The plan would have authorized the city to confiscate the license plates of any diplomat who failed to pay parking tickets for a year or more.
Original Story Date: 042097