#NYC drag-racing complaints have soared during COVID-19 pandemic

Complaints about scofflaws drag-racing in New York City have increased five-fold during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to public data crunched by a state senator.

Big Apple residents filed 1,057 complaints about speed demons to the city’s 311 system between March 20 and Sept. 10 — a 442 percent spike from the 239 complaints over the same period in 2019, city stats show, according to state Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan).

August alone saw 214 drag-racing complaints, compared to just 73 in August 2019, according to city data. February — the month before the coronavirus took hold of the city — had just 23 complaints.

The spike in illicit motor sports comes alongside a reported surge in speeding among drivers, who’ve put the pedal to the metal thanks to emptier-than-usual roads.

“While there’s been less traffic during the pandemic, some drivers have used this as an opportunity to treat our streets like a NASCAR speedway,” Hoylman said in a statement.

To combat dangerous street racing, Hoylman wants to allow the city’s speed cameras to operate all night at locations “identified as an area of special concern for illegal street racing, with input from the local community.” Current law requires the cameras to shut down on weekends and every night from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

His bill — dubbed the “FURIOUS” Act — would also explicitly define illegal drag-racing as any form of competitive driving — with or without any evidence of pre-planning.

The Department of Transportation lowered speed limits on nine major roads this month in an effort to combat the surge in speeding.