Some New Yorkers have made serious cash by reporting trucks left idling on city streets for more than a few minutes. The top earners — including lawyers, doctors, and others — have collected nearly $900,000 each through the city's Citizen Idling Complaint Program since 2019.
How it works: The city pays out up to half of the fine when someone submits proof that a commercial truck is sitting with its engine running — usually longer than three minutes — in violation of city law.
- Reports jumped from 49,000 in 2022 to a whopping 124,000 in 2024.
- The biggest earners are people like a Brooklyn pediatrician and an East Village attorney, who treat the program as a side gig. One reported, “It’s hard work.”
- Fines for idling can range from $350 up to $2,000 each, and most complaints get approved.
The other side: Trucking advocates point out that many trucks need to keep their engines running for things like charging batteries, lifting gates, or running coolers. “There is a kind of lack of understanding that there is an operational need for these trucks to be idling at times,” said Zach Miller of the Truckers Association of New York, according to the New York Post.
The citizen reporting program has even led to fraud and some confrontations, city officials admit, with some people submitting fake or repeat complaints. Politicians say they’re planning big changes to the program soon, but no details have been given yet.