Stop predatory towing

Hey, mall owners, ease up on all the towing.

We know you have invested big bucks to bring new stores to the area. It’s nice to have some extra shopping and eating options at Riverdale Crossing on Broadway near West 238th Street and the Broadway Plaza Mall near the intersection with West 231st Street.

But you’ve let towing at those parking lots get completely out of hand.

It’s unusual to go down Broadway without seeing another hapless victim’s car hooked to a truck about to carry the vehicle off to automobile purgatory.

All too often, people find themselves in the same shoes as  Shaneequa Armstrong. The other day, she parked at Riverdale Plaza to get food from Buffallo Wild Wings. While waiting for her order, she ran a quick errand across the street. Within minutes, a tow truck readied to haul her car, and she had to pay a whopping $136 to stop the act.

That’s no way to treat a customer.

Mall owners should stop this practice at once. If people are shopping at your stores, don’t begrudge business to neighboring establishments. Give drivers a period of grace. Every once in a while, let people off with a warning instead of an outrageous fee.

If not, Bronxites should stop patronizing your businesses.

Hopefully, it won’t come to that. But if Metropolitan Realty Associates, which run Riverdale Crossing, want to be good neighbors, they’ll stop the predatory towing. Equity One, which runs the Broadway Plaza mall, should nix reported plans to amp up its towing, too.