Overview

• Council investigators reviewed 3,500 vehicles over two months and found 768 with out-of-state plates, nearly one in five of which were not registered to the vehicles.
• The Bronx showed the highest concentration of ghost vehicles (73 of 242), followed by Brooklyn (54 of 193) and Queens (50 of 179), with far fewer in Manhattan and Staten Island.
• Vehicles with mismatched or no-hit plates accrued 49% more school-zone speed-camera violations and 74% more hydrant-blocking tickets than cars with matched plates.
• Ghost-plated cars owed an average of $667 compared with $268 for matched plates and paid less than 20% of fines, highlighting limited traceability.
• Despite a multiagency crackdown, authorities report 5,300+ vehicle seizures since March 2024 and, in 2025 operations, 1,893 tows tied to about $11.5 million in unpaid tolls and fees, as officials press for tighter oversight of online sellers.