Bus Bust: Another 3 Yep Tour Buses Seized, Held Ransom for $127K in Fines
Photo: NYC Department of Finance
Running, police on its back…
The bullseye on Yep Tour’s back is getting bigger by the day. For the third time in the last month, the authorities seized several buses in its fleet, holding three vehicles for six-figures ransom.
If you’re keeping score at home, that brings the total number of confiscated Yep buses to six since the January 12 bust.
The vigilante Chinatown Bus company – deemed one of the worst operators due to its cocky flaunting of the law – was hit last week with an additional $127,051 in fines (plus towing and storage fees). Three buses were nabbed while idling (separately) on both East Broadway and Division Street. They must pay up to reclaim the buses.
Yep Tour bus seized last month, Photo: NYC Sheriff
With these latest seizures, the city Sheriff is gradually chipping away at the more than $300,000 in fines accrued for parking violations, and pickup/drop-off without proper permits. Yet, because Yep Tour is incorporated in Massachusetts, they’ve been exploiting a loophole whereby fines are not as easily collected. These actions seem to be antidote to said loophole.
Yep Tour tried again last November to legitimize its operation with an official intercity bus permit. The application proved futile. The CB3 Transportation subcommittee concluded that rewarding a bad actor would set a dangerous precedent for other unchecked bus companies. The motion to deny a permit carried, alongside strongly-worded recommendation to the Department of Transportation to that effect.
Recent Stories
At Belse, the New Vegan Brewery on the Bowery
Belse, the Texas-based vegan brewery and restaurant, is now in business on the Bowery. The Lone Star State transplant – officially, Belse Plant Cuisine – takes 11,000 square-feet at 265-267 Bowery, in what was previously the fleeting home of the Paulaner Brauhaus brewery. The renovated space features three sections – a restaurant, bar, and Garden […]
East Village Artist M. Henry Jones, Contemporary of Keith Haring, Dies
M. Henry Jones, a member of the East Village arts scene for over forty years, died last week (either June 16 or 17) at the age of 65. We’re told, though unconfirmed, the cause of death was a form of cancer. Jones was a neighborhood fixture for decades, in part, because of his storefront studio […]
Under the Floorboards at Long-Vacant East Houston Lot
Bereft of substantial activity in nearly two decades, the long-vacant parcel at 49 East Houston Street is in deterioration overdrive. An eagle-eyed tipster notes that the floorboards atop the existing foundation are now busted. Creating a pseudo entryway into the cellar level. Before its demise fourteen years ago, 49 East Houston had been a one-story […]
Developer Begins Demolition of Rutgers Street Playground for Temporary Parking Lot
Demolition work began this week on a Lower East Side park that is a focal point in the tension between the community and developers on the waterfront. The backhoes are out and job now underway at Rutgers Park, the small public space beside the Lands End II residential development. Removal of the playground began yesterday, including […]
The 3 Lower East Side Walk-ups that Sold for $35M
Earlier this month, we reported that SMA Equities, the Long Island real estate firm with controversial history on the Lower East Side, sold a portfolio of its area properties. SMA unloaded three tenement walk-ups to Daniel Fishman of GAIA Real Estate – 102 Norfolk Street, 177 Ludlow Street, and 99 Allen Street – for an […]
