A Bronx councilmember is introducing two new bills designed to combat the distribution of illegal paper license plates in New York City.  

The paper plates are meant to resemble temporary ones issued by the DMV, and these “ghost cars” are used to avoid tolls and speeding tickets while also being used for more serious crimes.  

"Ghost cars are a public safety issue, and unfortunately, the enforcement surrounding it is not where it should be," said Councilmember Oswald Feliz, who is the elected official proposing this pair of bills. ‘Just like the ghost guns, they're using the ghost cars to commit serious crimes such as shootings and evading accountability given that the vehicles aren't easily traceable." 

The fake paper plates can be found on platforms like Craigslist, eBay, and Facebook Marketplace. By displaying them on their cars, people using the fake plates are contributing to the city’s debt by evading traffic fines.  

Councilmember Oswald Feliz is introducing two bills that aim to deter the sale of these fraudulent plates. The bills will increase the fine for those fake plates to $500 for the first violation and $1,000 for the second. Sellers will be fined $1,000 for the first violation and $2,000 for the second.