Knock deadbeat diplomats' water & power, councilman urges
BY KHADIJAH RENTAS and ERIN EINHORN
DAILY NEWS WRITERS

Sunday, July 6th 2008, 10:07 PM

Tow the cars of deadbeat diplomats - and shut off water and power to their buildings until taxes are paid up, one city councilman urged Sunday.

"Our city right now is having a hard time making ends meet," said Councilman Eric Gioia, a Queens Democrat.

"This city has to stick up for its rights and its citizens."

But city officials say the tough-love plan could be illegal - and may be unnecessary.

The once-flagrant problem of unpaid parking tickets and tax debts among United Nations diplomats - a perennial complaint of local pols - has improved since 2002.

The city successfully sued four countries in a case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, winning the right to collect real estate taxes.

It has also enforced aggressive new rules on diplomats with unpaid tickets as part of a deal that made it easier for them to park legally.

But diplos from the 10 nations with the worst records for unpaid parking tickets still owe more than $18 million in outstanding fines. And three of the countries named in the Supreme Court suit - India, Mongolia and the Philippines - still owe more than $57 million in property taxes. A fourth country, Turkey, settled its debt.

"They owe us $70 million, and I'm going to fight to get it," Gioia said. "That's a lot of money that can go a long way to pay for vital city services."

City lawyers say it's illegal to shut off water or power because of unpaid tax bills and that international agreements make towing diplomatic vehicles legally complicated.

"The city has already fought this to the Supreme Court of the United States and won, but we still welcome the councilman's help," mayoral spokesman Stu Loeser said yesterday.

"We are working with all countries that still owe property taxes as well as with the State Department to collect outstanding parking ticket revenue."

The United Nations missions of India, Mongolia and the Philippines were closed yesterday, and calls to their offices were not returned.

Representatives from Egypt and Kuwait, the countries with the highest parking debts, also could not be reached.

eeinhorn@nydailynews.com

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/07 ... pol-2.html