Nigerian diplomats are amongst the worst violators of New York City’s traffic rules. With unsettled fee fines of over one million dollars, they are number two on the list of international diplomats owing the city a backlog of unpaid parking fees.
The city’s Department of Finance said unpaid tickets totaled $16.7 million through the end of July. Egypt topped the list with $1.9 million in tickets, followed by Nigeria with about $1 million and Indonesia with about $725,000.
Last year, New York City filed a federal lawsuit in Manhattan against the Nigerian government, claiming that Nigeria failed to pay real estate taxes for the 22-storey building known as “Nigeria House”, situated at 828 Second Avenue in Manhattan. The city seeks between $4.1 million and upward of $16 million in unpaid taxes, other charges and interest from Nigeria.
U.S. congressmen Michael Grimm, Peter King and Edolphus Towns have introduced legislation that would impose sanctions on countries with diplomats who fail to pay parking fines in New York City.
“We can only imagine how much is being racked up this week,” Grimm’s spokeswoman, Carol Danko, said of the diplomats and world leaders who met at the United Nations in New York.
Under current law, 110 percent of total unpaid parking fines owed to New York City and Washington will be withheld from the foreign aid and obligations to the offending countries.
But the stiffed cities don’t recover any of the money, Danko said.
The proposed legislation asks the U.S. State Department to deny the renewal of diplomatic licenses to any country with outstanding parking fines.
New York City is home to 289 foreign missions and consulates. The diplomats’ tickets were issued for safety violations including blocking fire hydrants.
“There’s no such thing as ‘diplomatic immunity’ from paying parking tickets,” Grimm said when the legislation was introduced in May.
“If you get a ticket in NYC, you have to pay it. No exceptions. New York City’s budget is tight enough as it is, and foreign diplomats do not deserve a free pass at the expense of New York City taxpayers.”
Last year New York City filed a federal lawsuit in Manhattan against the Nigerian government, claiming that Nigeria failed to pay real estate taxes. The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court, claims that the Nigerian government failed to pay taxes for commercial offices and other non-tax exempt spaces in the 22-storey building it owns at 828 Second Avenue in Manhattan
The exact amount was not known because of the refusal of the Nigerian government to supply the city with documentation. As a result, the city seeks between $4.1 million and upward of $16 million in unpaid taxes, other charges and interest from Nigeria. The city provides a tax exemption to all foreign governments for their United Nations Mission and their consulates. The building, known as “Nigeria House” is used partially for tax-exempt purposes, including as offices for the Nigerian Consulate and the Nigerian Mission to the UN.