In the course of a column on Friday arguing that the hard-pressed taxpayers of New York City and state should underwrite $650 million in bonds for the United Nations to build new offices, Clyde Haberman of the New York Times dismisses the idea that New York-based diplomats are scofflaws when it comes to parking tickets. “In fact, the city’s Finance Department says that the deadbeat rate has been reduced virtually to zero. That reality, however, has not stopped the Senate majority leader, Joseph L. Bruno, from citing parking tickets as proof that the United Nations cannot be trusted to pay its debts,” he writes.

Well, hold onto your parking stub just one second. While Mr. Haberman is certainly entitled to his opinion about a taxpayer subsidy for the United Nations, New Yorkers are entitled to the facts. We commend to them the financial plan released by Mayor Bloomberg on January 27, 2005. “In 2002, the State Department and New York City agreed to a historic parking program that has dramatically reduced illegal parking by the diplomatic community and improved the collection of payments for summons issued. Since the implementation of the program, the rate of summonses resolved increased from 9 percent to 67 percent. Not only has the program generated more revenue for the City, it has reduced the number of parking violations issued. Given the success of this program, the City is seeking to collect fines accrued prior to the implementation of the program. More than 180 countries owe the City approximately $20 million dating back to April 1, 1997,” the document says.

Mr. Haberman may regard $20 million in back fines as “virtually zero,” but it seems a bit of a stretch for a guy who is lecturing Senator Bruno about “reality.” A 67% rate of summonses resolved is an improvement over 9%, but it still means 33% are unresolved, which is more than “virtually zero.” A spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Finance, Joanna Perlman, told us yesterday that the mayor’s financial plan is accurate and that the diplomats do owe $20 million in fines. The dramatic reduction she was talking about to Mr. Haberman, she said, was an 86% reduction in the issuance of parking tickets to diplomats. In other words, police and traffic enforcement agents are writing fewer tickets to cars with diplomatic plates. Sounds to us like Mr. Bruno has the better end of this argument.