In some tourist areas, he added, junk cars were “hidden” in the bushes.
He said the mayor’s office is collaborating with the Saipan Zoning Office under its new administrator, Geralyn Dela Cruz.
He said the zoning office will continue tagging abandoned vehicles, which the mayor’s office will remove if the owner fails to show before the deadline set by the rules.
The mayor’s office has two claw trucks that will remove the junk cars, he added.
In 2019, the mayor’s office removed 1,172 junk cars.
Since the mayor’s office reopened following the Covid-19 shutdown, more abandoned vehicles have been identified for removal, Hofschneider said.
In a separate interview, Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang said it is important to remove those junk cars for environmental and health reasons.
“Rodents and mosquitoes are nesting there,” he said. “So we are trying to remove all junk cars on island.”
The zoning office has been working with the mayor’s office in tagging the abandoned vehicles, he added as he encouraged community members to report sightings of junk cars in their area so these can be removed.
