NEW YORK CITY- Following months of embarrassing reports on the blogopshere and in the news about city employees abusing their parking privileges, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced that the city would reduce the number of parking placards issued to city workers by “at least 20 percent” as of March 1, according to the New York Times.

The issue of city workers hogging the streets’ spots had gotten so bad that an entire Web site — http://UncivilServants.org — was set up to expose the problem.

Starting in March, only the police and transportation departments will have the authority to issue the parking permits; currently, a variety of agencies do.

The police department will create a new enforcement unit “to ensure compliance” and agencies will develop rules to prevent abuse of the parking permits, while a “multi-agency working group” will continue to review parking-related issues, including the allocation of spaces for official use; on-street parking regulations; time limits in no parking, truck loading and metered zones; and greater use of public transportation by city officials.

Edward Skyler, the deputy mayor for operations, will lead the panel.

“Parking placards are a necessary tool for conducting city business, but we have no tolerance for their abuse, which contributes to congestion,” Mr. Bloomberg said in a statement. “We will give out placards only to those who need to use them to further the public interest. City workers have often led by example, and our efforts to reduce traffic congestion will be no different.”

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said that vehicles displaying look-alike or counterfeit placards will be issued summonses, and their owners will be subject to prosecution.