Police and elected officials in Paterson have a message for people who drive ATVs and other illegal vehicles on public property – if you’re caught, you’ll face hefty fines and you won’t get the vehicle back.
“If we seize your illegal vehicle, we’re keeping your illegal vehicle,” Mayor Andre Sayegh said during a City Hall press conference on Wednesday. “We reserve the right to sell your illegal vehicle or destroy your illegal vehicle.”
The Paterson City Council on Tuesday passed an ordinance to stop people from driving ATVs, dirt bikes, snowmobiles and other noisy, unregistered and illegal vehicles on sidewalks, city streets and elsewhere on public property.
“Illegal vehicles have caused multiple injuries and fatalities throughout the years in Paterson,” Sayegh told NJ Advance Media on Thursday.
Sayegh said 21 vehicles were seized last month during “Operation Confiscation.” He said ATVs and other vehicles have resulted in numerous crashes with legal vehicles.
“We want to ensure the safety and well-being of residents, property owners, and those who use the vehicles,” he said.
The ordinance, which passed 8-1 on Tuesday, calls for fines ranging from $500 for the first offense, and up to $2,000 for each additional offense.
“We’re cracking down by codifying into law our aggressive stance against these illegal ATVs, dirt bikes and motorcycles,” Sayegh said during Wednesday’s press conference, where he was joined by city attorney Aymen Aboushi and Police Director Jerry Speziale.
Aboushi said the city ushered in the new law in response to numerous complaints from city residents and documentation from the police department on serious crashes on public property.
The attorney said he believes the law will work, noting that after last month’s seizure of illegal vehicles, many owners tried unsuccessfully to retrieve them. “(Seizure) hits them where it hurts,” Aboushi said.
The Paterson ordinance is designed to have a similar effect as one passed recently in Atlantic City, where it’s now illegal for gas stations to provide fuel to ATVs and dirt bikes that are driven into the station.
Instead, the vehicles must be secured in a trailer or the back of a truck if their owners want to have the tanks filled. Atlantic City has also made it illegal for self-storage facilities to allow ATVs or dirt bikes to be housed on their property.
Some cities in Lehigh Valley have also cracked down on ATVs and dirt bikes, engaging drivers in weeks of litigation before they can get their vehicles back, if at all. New York City has also enacted new laws regarding the vehicles, destroying nearly 100 dirt bikes and ATVs in their Brooklyn, New York, impound lot earlier this year.
Sayegh told NJ Advance Media on Thursday that he’s studying vehicle laws in New Jersey and other states and may seek to adopt additional restrictions and penalties.
Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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