NEW YORK - The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) is not properly tracking its inventory and issuance of disability parking permits, according to an audit initiated by former Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. and just completed by Comptroller John C. Liu.  The poor controls in place could mean the issuance of thousands of fraudulent permits.

"People with disabilities should be afforded opportunities and mechanisms to remain independent and contributing," Comptroller Liu said.  "One way we help is by allowing mobility-impaired individuals to park their cars at most curbsides on City-owned streets. The application process for these permits is rigorous, and necessarily so, according to the DOT.  Unfortunately, the agency's own procedures fall far short of rigorous.  This double standard sometimes creates an unreasonable burden for applicants, sometimes invalidates permits inadvertently, and leaves the City vulnerable to the issuance of fraudulent permits."

The audit found that DOT's controls for its handling of permit seals is grossly deficient. Of the 100,500 permit seals reportedly on hand when the auditors performed a count, at least 22,000 -- or 22 percent -- were unaccounted for. This is problematic since fraudulent permits are easily created using these seals, and loose controls facilitate an environment where fraudulent permits could be issued without detection.  DOT officials generally agreed with the audit's recommendations, through they disagreed in part with the findings related to the missing seals. The audit had scrutinized a sample of 250 permits out of the 24,369 total City disability parking permits issued by the NYC DOT's Parking Permits for People with Disabilities (PPPD) unit during Fiscal Year 2008.