NYC drivers thwart speed cameras by covering lenses with fake flowers: Same as congestion pricing

Some Staten Island drivers are putting their petals to the metal — tying bunches of fake flowers over local speed cameras to keep them from working.More than a dozen bunches of the bogus buds have been yanked down from devices in the borough in recent weeks, and the city Department of Transportation has recruited the NYPD to help find the perpetrators behind the blossoming road hack.“Speeding kills.Tampering with speed cameras is unacceptable and puts lives at risk, a DOT rep told The Post.

“We are actively working with the NYPD, and the perpetrators will be held accountable for jeopardizing public safety.”Some locations of the 14 bouquet-covered cameras included Hylan Boulevard in Dongan Hills and Armstrong Avenue in Eltingville, according to various social-media posts. It’s unclear when the bouquet protest started, if the same cameras were targeted multiple times or what the penalties are for tampering with a speed camera.The DOT did not provide a list of locations where blocked speed cameras were found.“Brought to you by The Staten Island Beautification Squad,” read one tag posted to a floral arrangement affixed to a speed camera, according to a Friday post on X. Despite the DOT’s disdain for the bud-acious move, some Staten Islanders appeared to be fully behind the flower-wielding vigilantes.“I support people doing that,” Staten Island contractor John Santos told The Post.

“It’s a way of keeping  money in our pockets, we have a hard time enough.“It’s better than vandalizing it or destroying [the cameras],” said Santos, 34.“It is a money grab,” he said of the devices.

“It is the same thing as congestion pricing.”A plumber, Mike, called the camera-blocking effort “good.“Sometimes you are a little over [the speed limit].It doesn’t matter” to the cameras, he said.

“I support [the flower power] with all my heart.”Business owner Joseph O’Toole said, “They should get rid of every speed cameras.“It’s all ...