DMV Limited To Rensselaer County Residents Only
by Doug La Rocque
In a press release issued on Monday, June 22, Rensselaer County Clerk Frank Merola describes himself as “livid” at the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and Governor Andrew Cuomo for what he says is “a lack of preparation and implementation” of a coherent plan to reopen statewide DMVs that were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Rensselaer County DMV reopened on Wednesday, June 17, and Mr. Merola said since that time his office has seen long lines of frustrated DMV customers attempting to renew licenses, register vehicles and take permit tests. Counties are attempting to serve the public without adequate guidance from State DMV officials. “My office looks like the Saratoga track in August with long lines of people waiting to get in.” Mr. Merola said, “We cannot sustain this level of use for long periods of time without assistance.”
Effective on Tuesday, June 23, Mr. Merola has ordered his office to only process registration transactions for Rensselaer County residents. For all others, Albany DMV has a drop box on Central Avenue. The Clerk says “I am forced to take this step because our DMV is overwhelmed. This situation is a direct result of State DMV not having an effective reopening plan in place. State DMV needs to step up, open and get their acts together.”
Later that same day, DMV announced its Albany office will begin accepting appointments for in person visits, but with limited transactions. Vehicle registrations, license upgrades and permit tests are not among them.
DMV Responds
The Eastwick Press reached out to DMV for a comment on Mr. Merola’s accusations, and was sent the following response by Assistant Commissioner Lisa Koumjian: “Clerk Merola should take ownership of his own poor decision to reopen ahead of the state DMV offices in neighboring Albany County without implementing a reservation-only policy, which he was both advised to implement and later mandated to by Executive Order 202.43.”