New Yorkers have an unusual way to make thousands of dollars.

Thanks to the new law, any resident of New York who has a phone and free time can earn thousands of dollars by reporting outages of commercial vehicles with the engine turned on.

Фото: Depositphotos

The law, which came into force in January 2018, allows everyone to file a complaint with the city council of the Department of Environmental Protection if they document (record video) a bus, truck and van with the engine turned on for at least three minutes. If the complaint is considered, the person who reported the incident will receive $ 300 to $ 2 000, and the offender will be fined.

George Packenham, a banker and an activist who fights for clean air, knows that the anti-idle laws with the engine turned on were adopted in the 1970s, but were rarely applied. Last 10 years he walked around the city, asking the drivers to drown out the car. Now, with last year's amendment to the law, which allows someone to help enforce the law, he goes out and earns money.

Photo: video frame

“I filed 120 complaints and was paid nine thousand dollars,” Pakenham said. Idling cars in New York City emit 2009 tons of CO130 into the atmosphere each year, according to a 000 Environmental Defense Fund study.

Interestingly, the Pakenham mission is gaining momentum: he has a dozen "street agents" who are now working with him to enforce the law of New York. He is confident that, thanks to a decent monetary reward from the city, hundreds of people will work with him, supporting the mission of clean air.

Of course, extra money is a nice perk for Pakenham, but it's not the reason he got into the anti-idling business.

“My brother got stage 4 lung cancer even though he didn’t smoke. So I was looking for some kind of relief from this pain,” the activist said.

In addition to lung cancer, air pollution from car exhaust can also cause asthma, especially in children, as well as heart attacks and strokes in adults, said one of the “street agents” Pakenham, German pediatrician Patrick Schnell.

Read also on ForumDaily:

30 ways to make money online

24 ways to make extra money

Additional earnings in the USA: what types of side jobs are the most profitable

15 ways to increase your income

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.