Comments on: How The City of New York Screws You (then makes you pay)

By: Sandy

Sandy — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 02:02:26 +0000

I am in the middle of a snit with NYC too. I parked on 49th Street RIGHT NEXT TO a sign that CLEARLY is a legal spot for me on Saturday afternoon. WAY down at the other end of the street is sign that says No Parking except Commercial Traffic. It was a Saturday. I got a $95 ticket AND I got TOWED. I fought the ticket and enclosed four full page photos of the sign post and the address that was on my ticket .

First I got a letter saying that if I agreed to pay $50 they would drop the whole thing. But I'm not compromising…i was 100% right. Last week I got a notice that the judge found me guilty and I have to pay the $95. I can hardly make out the beaurocratese on the letter…my photo wasn't dispositive of street location. How could I get the street sign on the corner and the parking sign in the middle of the block in the same photo? It makes no sense. I was screwed. I wrote to the judge yesterday but probably have no recourse.

By: FrankDenbow

FrankDenbow — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 09:34:50 +0000

Try this one. I try to park on the street but can't read the sign. I step out of the car, walk over to check the sign, come back to the car, and the guy is ALREADY writing me a ticket. Congrats to you NY police officer for your efficiency. Douche.

By: ~s

~s — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 03:00:49 +0000

Go Shane!!! My Hero! ~s

By: shanesnow

shanesnow — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 17:46:06 +0000

Wow, sounds like I'm just starting to see the tip of the iceberg. Good call on the Post, Lawrence. I think I will send a tip, haha.

By: shanesnow

shanesnow — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 17:44:55 +0000

Seriously, 1 minute! Those bastards. I'm sorry, man.

By: Bsknoelk

Bsknoelk — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 06:08:16 +0000

I got a ticket at 8:29 pm near Queens Blvd. Free parking starts at 8:30.
To be fair, I left my car at ~8:25 so that I wasn't late to my job starting at 8:30.
NYC is a scam. The whole city.

By: Lawrence

Lawrence — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 03:28:08 +0000

Hey Shane, I too feel your pain. Been there, done that.

I remember when Traffic Enforcement Agents used to be called "brownies" because of the brown uniforms they used to don way back when.

Here's the story I prefer to remember as a former New Yorker.

Had my car parked on Lexington Avenue on the Upper East Side and was feedin' the meter for the better portion of that Saturday till I was able to park legally on the side street after 6:00 pm.

Went down to my parking spot and saw the brownie standing in front of my car while writing in her ticket book.

I looked at her incredulously, then I looked at the meter and saw 4 minutes remaining. I smirked at her, she frowned at me and I got in my car and drove off.

Hey, a thought. Maybe, you can send a press release to the News or the Post. Don't they love those kinds of stories?

Lawrence

By: Ryan Healy

Ryan Healy — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 02:44:08 +0000

I feel your pain. I recently was issued a speeding ticket -- even though my radar detector never issued a warning.

A few days after I got my ticket, I heard reports that in my own town of Parker, Colorado, they're issuing speeding tickets without even clocking you. If you look like you're going fast, they'll just pull you over and issue you a ticket.

If you suspect that the cop has no proof -- and you ask to see the radar gun -- and the cop is indeed lying -- then they let you off with a warning. Still: Absolutely criminal, whether you're speeding or not.

And this is the minor stuff. Just look what happened to law-abiding citizens in Toronto during the G20 meetings.

Ryan