It’s hook, line and stinker for city drivers.
NYPD tow-truck operators are hauling away cars at an alarming pace because of ramped-up pressure to meet a shocking four-car quota per shift — and those who fail face stiff penalties, sources told The Post.
“You have to get your number. That’s it. If you don’t get that number, you know that when you roll into the pound, the bosses will be all over you,” said a veteran driver.
Punishment can range from a loss of overtime to relegation to the graveyard shift to delayed approval of time-off requests.
That fear is leading drivers to tow cars they might otherwise let off, just to make sure they hit the mark.
“If it’s a judgment call, we’ll frequently go against the driver for that reason,” a source familiar with the mandate said. “It’s screw them or screw me. Either way, someone’s getting screwed.”
The source told of drivers’ being called in for “interviews” with managers and subsequently being moved off the desirable 5 a.m.-to-1 p.m. shift and placed instead on overnight hours because “they’re not bringing in enough cars.”
Chances for overtime — like beginning or ending a shift four hours early or late — also suddenly dry up, the source said.
An NYPD spokesman, Inspector Ed Mullens, said the four-car quota and any punishment for not meeting it “is absolutely not true.”
A source said drivers are ultimately paying the price.
“You may be willing to cut someone a break, but you can’t do it,” the source said. “If I give this guy a break and don’t tow his car, I might end up without overtime.”
Supervisors constantly say during roll calls that “management is not proud, management is not happy” with the number of tows — referring to the NYPD, the veteran driver said.
As of early July, 69,419 cars were towed this year. At that pace, the NYPD would impound 138,838 vehicles by year’s end, as The Post reported yesterday.
“If you want the morning tour, you’d better produce, or they’ll stick you in the overnight tour if you’re not bringing in the amount of numbers they want you to,” the driver said.
There was a 13 percent increase in tows between 2007 and 2008, from 120,835 impounded vehicles to 136,632. There was a 5.6 percent increase from 2006 to 2007.
Drivers fighting to get their cars back yesterday cried foul over the mandate — saying their pockets were being drained to fill city coffers.
“This is a racket! This is definite racket!” said Bronx resident Josephine Hernandez, 39, at the Manhattan tow lot. “They’re towing everyone.”
Others said they’d noticed that more cars were getting hauled away.
“It’s disgusting, absolutely beyond disgusting,” said Elizabeth Gillies, 43, of the Upper West Side.
“It’s been getting bad lately. They have no respect for people.”