City Revokes Armored Car Firm Garda's Idling Law Exemption - Streetsblog New York City

"DEP revoked GardaWorld Cash's idling law variance on Feb. 13 due to "noncompliance with the number of vehicles that required anti-idling and electrification," a DEP spokesman told Streetsblog via email. The company had committed to electrify 50 percent of its fleet in exchange for the variance, which did not apply to idling during "actions outside regular duties, including - but not limited to - authorized meal breaks.""

"Enacted during the Lindsay administration to coincide with the first Earth Day, the city's anti-idling law was sparsely enforced before the launch of the Citizens Air Complaint Program in the late 2010s. The program allowed everyday New Yorkers to submit complaints about idling commercial vehicles and receive a portion of any resulting fine paid by the companies."

"DEP has doled out hundreds of thousands of idling fines via citizen enforcement. Under Mayor Eric Adams and Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala, the agency leveraged the fines to win fleet electrification commitments from several armored car companies, most of which have expired."

The Department of Environmental Protection revoked an idling law variance granted to GardaWorld Cash in February 2024 after determining the armored car company failed to comply with fleet electrification benchmarks. The company had received the exemption in exchange for committing to electrify half its fleet. DEP has used citizen-reported idling violations and resulting fines to pressure commercial fleet operators into electrification agreements. Of seven armored car companies receiving variances under Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala, GardaWorld was the only one whose exemption was revoked for non-compliance, while others either declined the variance or saw their agreements expire.

Read at Streetsblog