By Amy Sacks
Special to DNAinfo
GREENWICH VILLAGE — NYU's security team is upgrading from three-wheeled patrol vehicles to a smarter car.
The university's campus security added two new Smart cars to its fleet, in hopes of giving officers a more practical and eco-friendly mode of transport, NYU officials said.
Since the mini-cars hit the streets two weeks ago, the attention-grabbing vehicle is getting mixed reviews around the Greenwich Village campus.
“I needed something that was economical, more friendly in terms of licensing requirements and something we could use year-round,” said Jules Martin, NYU’s vice president of global security and crisis management, who first spotted the Smart cars a few years ago in London. "This is the perfect solution. We're always looking for opportunities to green our fleet."
The two-seater purple and white cars will replace two of the university’s former patrol vehicles, a pair of three-wheeled scooters. The scooters, which cost about $25,000 apiece, turned out to be more trouble than they were worth because officers needed a motorcycle license to drive them, which many of them don't have, Martin said.
The university sold those scooters this week for nearly $11,000 each on Ebay.
The university bought their new 2009 Smart Fortwo Passion Coupe model vehicles, which retail for about $12,000 and up, at a fleet discount Manhattan dealer, Martin said.
The vehicles will be used for mobile patrol and to transport security personnel to various posts around the campus – which has a radius stretching from 84th Street to Lafayette Street, between Second Avenue and Broadway.
At about 33 miles per gallon, the cars are more efficient than the university’s gas-guzzling 12-seater vans, are easy to park, and are recyclable.
“The thoughts were about sustainability in addition to the practical,” Martin said.
Some passersby are intrigued by the cars, which are often parked outside the security office on Washington Place.
John Dimatos, 31, was immediately drawn to one he spotted a few days ago, perched beneath the arch at Washington Square Park.
“If it makes their job easier and promotes a small-car aesthetic appropriate for cities then I'm all for it,” said Dimatos, a researcher at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program.
Still, some locals are less enthralled.
“I think it’s stupid,” said NYU employee Ken Kidd, a life-long car buff who saw the Smart4two in Europe years before they started bringing them to the US.
“It’s noisy like a lawnmower, its center of gravity is totally out of whack, and it gets buffeted by the wind,” he said.
Despite the numerous potholes and cobblestone streets, a recent ride around the Washington Square Park area felt pretty smooth. The car only measures about 9 feet long and 5 feet wide, yet the interior felt surprisingly roomy.
The automatic clutch — which is designed like a manual transmission — allows the driver to shift the car without taking their hands on the wheel, a key point for a security force, said Fred Barlow, assistant director of training, transportation & administration.
The tiny vehicle can get up to 90 miles an hour, Barlow said, but the officers are all supposed to keep within speed limits.
About 40,000 Smart cars have been sold in the US since its 2008 debut, said SmartUSA spokesman Kenneth Kettenbeil. The tri-state area is in the top 10 percent of the market for the car.
Meanwhile, security officer Collin Campbell gave his new ride a thumbs up. “It does the job.”
