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by John_Deutzman from New York City

Last Post 25 days, 1 hour Ago


City Cars Taken Home with No Proof
Sep 30, 2008 | 9:37 PM
Category: News
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New York City seems to have extremely strict and sound rules when it comes to allowing city workers to take home cars on a full time-basis.

Read the CITY POLICY.

To summarize, you are not supposed to take a city car home on a full-time basis unless:

1. You are required to report on a daily basis from your home to a job in the field.

2. You respond to emergencies frequently on an average of once a week.

3. Mandatory paperwork is required for authorization.

The city's Department of Environmental Protection seems to have forgotten about all of the above.

If you know of any city employee in any agency that seems to be violating the above strict guidelines, please CONTACT FOX 5 ONLINE or call 877-TELL-FOX5.

Read my PREVIOUS BLOG on this story.

Watch PART 1 of my story.

60 Comments |  Add a Comment

Member Comments Total Comments: 60
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olgravy
Sep 30, 2008 | 10:35 PM

Great piece. But what about all of the other city agencies? I see so many DOT and DOB vehicles parked throughout my neighborhood at night. But I have to admit, DEP certainly seems at least to have the most that are taken home. People have been taking advantage of this luxury for far too long. They [the city workers] should be happy they are on a payroll in today's market. Let them pay $100/month for parking + whatever for gas, etc. My big problem is with those who lie about their residence so they can work for the city.
John_Deutzman read my blog
Sep 30, 2008 | 10:35 PM

Hi,

I forgot to mention that if you report any suspicious activity with city cars...You do not have to use your name. We will never give up our sources. It would be helpfull to have a way to contact you..e mail or phone number so I can ask questions.

Thanks
John
John_Deutzman read my blog
Sep 30, 2008 | 10:37 PM

Olgravy,

We are taking a look at other agencies to. The DEP seems like a good place to start, given the huge amount of take home vehicles and the fact that they are supposed to be protecting the enviroment.
olgravy
Sep 30, 2008 | 10:39 PM

John:
I agree with you 100%. The hypocrisy is now for all to see. Thank you and keep fighting the good fight.
John_Deutzman read my blog
Sep 30, 2008 | 10:48 PM

Thanks for the comment and taking the time to respond on the blog. More to come!
BobbyHBK read my blog view my photos
Oct 1, 2008 | 11:07 AM

Great report!! And it was rude of Bloomberg to answer with such a smirk on his face like it was no big deal. And he wants another term???????
CarrieBradshaw
Oct 1, 2008 | 1:28 PM

Great job John. But you should really name the "spokesperson" who's been misleading you. I'm sick and tired of gov't "spokespeople" who are paid by us lying to the press and getting away with it. Their job is to tell the truth to the best of their ability. Even if they are expected to spin it this way or that, they still must TELL THE TRUTH! Please name the spokesperson and also his or her boss, whoever's running the DEP press office.

Thanks!
Sanctus read my blog view my photos
Oct 1, 2008 | 2:16 PM

Hey! I just had a great idea for Bloomberg's new campaign. "Vote for me and drive home for free, especially if you work for the DEP! Who needs two terms of free rides when you can have three?" That's it! I'm leaving my office now to go apply for the position of his new campaign manager!

Daniel
John_Deutzman read my blog
Oct 1, 2008 | 2:23 PM

Carrie and Daniel...

Both excellent comments!
Schrodinger
Oct 1, 2008 | 8:33 PM

Thank you for exposing these abuses, which are probably more widespread than we can even begin to imagine.

What an elitist group of incompetent idiots at the DEP, with their exaggerated job descriptions, bogus medical claims due to stress caused by Fox 5 News, and top secret computer programs.

I'll bet they have a secret handshake, too.
olgravy
Oct 2, 2008 | 10:19 AM

I'm sure some are elitist while others are idiots, but I'm sure that is not widespread. They do provide an important service to the city. We just need to expose those who take advantage of the system. I'd like to see a list of names and job titles/descriptions of those who are assigned a car. It would be great to see a computer tech or middle manager justify their need for a personal vehicle.
John_Deutzman read my blog
Oct 2, 2008 | 11:47 AM

olgravy,

Based on information from insiders only about 30 out of the 522 vehciles truly qualify under the city's strict guidelines.

John
CarrieBradshaw
Oct 2, 2008 | 5:32 PM

I'll bet it's quite a bit more than 30 considering that DEP has 24-hour water and sewer responsibilities in all five boroughs, plus hazardous materials, air pollutants and other stuff. Or maybe the people who should have the cars don't get them while others do? But guaranteed that if you match the cars to the people who take them home you'll find lots of deputy assistant pencil pushers who never do anything outside the office.
Yanks77
Oct 3, 2008 | 7:56 AM

It's amazing that these civilian employees have take home cars but the hard working DEP Police Officers (Detectives and ESU Officers) who ACTUALLY respond to emergencies at 2, 3, 4AM in the morning do so without the use of a Take home vehicle. Commissioner Lloyd is all smoke and Mirrors. The Protection of the City Water Supply is a Joke. Great Investigation though. Glad you brought some things to light.
John_Deutzman read my blog
Oct 3, 2008 | 8:58 AM

Yanks,

So far no change, That's the dissapointing part.

John
Yanks77
Oct 3, 2008 | 9:13 AM

John,

You should talk to LEEBA President Kenny Wynder he represents the 150 NYC DEP Police Offiers that work for the Department of Environmental Protection. It's really scary how unprotected the Water Supply really is. There is a Federal Lawsuit in the courts right now against NYC DEP and NYC Water Board brought about by NYC DEP Police Officers. check out www.leeba.us and www.watershedpolicepba.org for more info.
Yanks77
Oct 3, 2008 | 10:00 AM

Forgot to mention DEP should stand for Don't Expect Protection. ;)
allfornyc
Oct 3, 2008 | 3:54 PM

DEP is the worst it's been in almost 20 years. Unsafe as hell, pathetic management, nepotism, political patronage and management with perk vehicles. And yes Yanks77, DEP Police were actually a force to contend with back in the day. Today they consist of fixed posts, where bordem is the norm, hence a hight attrition rate.Every policy is smoke and mirrors.
allfornyc
Oct 3, 2008 | 4:07 PM

I would bet that those so called 522 "emergency responders" use that acronym because if they are not emergency responders and take a car home then they must pay the IRS for the perk vehicle they receive on a per day basis. Perhaps the IRS should be checking on the DEP.
olgravy
Oct 3, 2008 | 10:23 PM

Funny thing is that the IRS occupies offices in the same building as DEP.
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John_Deutzman

John Deutzman, a New York native, has been working as a reporter at Fox 5 News since September of 2001. John has won 12 career Emmys and has received 28 Emmy nominations. He's known for his aggressive and at times humorous style when catching bad guys and exposing scams for the Fox 5 Investigative Unit. John's stories have resulted in arrests, businesses being shut down and dozens victims getting their money back from scam artists. Before moving back to New York, John spent 11 years in Miami, first as a sports reporter but when hurricane Andrew struck, John was thrown into news reporting and evenutally made the full time switch to news. John also had stints in Binghamton,New York and Springfield,Massachusetts
. A native of Smithtown,Long Island, John is an 11th-generation Long Islander. He describes himself as a 50/50 mix of his two grandfathers. One grandfather was a journalist who owned the town paper, the "Smithtown Messenger" and the other was one of the first cops in town who had a reputation for being tough and crazy but fair.

Member Since: 6/1/2006