New York Didn't Give The Famous Brooklyn Trar A Chance Before Crushing It

Remember the Brooklyn Trar? The bright green Mini body atop a Chevy truck frame that our dear departed Raph Orlove introduced you to all those years ago? That trar has been sitting in largely the same place all these years, as a decoration outside New Millennium Motors in Gowanus, Brooklyn, delighting all who pass by. At least, it had been, until this week — when the New York City Department of Sanitation ticketed the trar, towed it, and crushed it, all in one night according to News12 Brooklyn

The trar was ticketed at 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7 for being street-parked without a VIN or a license plate, the latter allegation of which is certainly true — I've probably passed by the little Mini myself hundreds of times back when I lived on that side of Brooklyn, and at no point did it ever bear a plate. While the lack of a VIN is less obvious, it stands to reason that the trar could wear either the VIN of its Mini body or its Chevy frame. Whether one, both, or neither of those was on proper display is another question. Yet, at 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 8, the trar was towed away and crushed. 

Why now?

The trar had sat on display outside New Millennium Motors in Gowanus for over a decade, and had been a memorial for the latter seven years of that time — its builder was the owner of New Millennium Motors, Andreas Stylianou, who died in a car accident in 2019. The little Mini got decorated for holidays — it's wearing a witch hat above for Halloween — and is something of an icon to the local community. The stretch of 3rd Avenue on which the trar was parked is even named Andreas Stylianou Way, which happens to be just a few blocks from a series of DSNY garages. 

It's tough to believe the Department of Sanitation was unaware of the trar for the last ten years of its life as a display piece, yet the Mini was removed with startling efficiency in an overnight operation with no opportunity for appeal or remedy. Jalopnik asked DSNY what prompted the sudden action, and a representative from the department said that the lack of a plate or VIN left "no way for the city to contact the owner." DSNY did go on to say that the nearby garages were for unrelated workers, however, and that the city often removes vehicles as a response to complaints. That last tidbit would be my thought as to why, so suddenly, the infamous Brooklyn trar disappeared.

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