JM, if you could see the picture you'd know this wasn't an ambulance. It's big enough to be an ambulance, but it isn't.

I've seen ordinary automobiles with VAS plates, that are definitely not what you think of as "ambulances." They, however, can call a real ambulance in an emergency if one is really needed. They are often sent out first if they are in the neighborhood just to assess the situation.

No one with any type of placard should be exempt from traffic or parking rules if they are not engaged in an emergency situation at the time. It is ridiculous how traffic enforcement agents will ignore the rules when they see placards.

I once questioned a police officer why he was not ticketing people in a "No Parking Anytime" zone and he responded that since the cars had placards that they were attending church services, they could not be ticketed. (He was ticketing cars without placards.) I'd like to know what law states this. Ha Ha.

that there actually is a rule that they have to keep their engines running

That's just... unreal. Doubly so because we have to pay for it.

a parking pig, a person who makes a career of harassing, robbing, raping, and in general pissing on your average Joe Taxpayer like you and me

Cool your jets, motorist. Have you ever given one moment's thought to the fact that parking enforcement is necessary because otherwise you would never be able to find a parking space?

And FYI, as a volunteer medic, who doesn’t abuse his privileges, we carry narcotics that have to be temperature regulated. In the winter I very often leave my car running with the doors locked if I am running in to a bodega, pizza shop etc. etc. so my narcs don’t get too cold.
Don’t jump to conclusions because you can’t keep your jealousy in check.

As for "engines running to be ready on a moment's notice", also give me a break. It takes, what, 3 seconds to start an engine? That goes for all these idlers. I work around Wall Street and the neighborhood is overflowing with cop cars, SWAT trucks, buses, and commercial vehicles idling for hours on end--for no reason other than laziness.

Don't throw his keys in the sewer because when you get run over by a vehicle down the street he won't be able to come take you to the hospital.

The question one has to ask is, should the ambulance crews be out and about while they're on the job? In this case you can't fault them for much if they're not getting paid.

Stu & Mark - Bike mechanic Hal Ruzal once told me a story where he did exactly that back in the 1980s to a driver who nearly killed him and then a few blocks later pulled over, and got out of his car to buy a hotdog and left keys in ignition with the car double parked on Avenue of the Americas. And as Mark suggested, Hal threw them in the sewer.

Yes, that would be a bad idea. Drop them in the nearest storm drain.

Counterproductive, I guess, but satisfying.