Ticket for what?

Almost anything!

 

Even feeding birds draws a summons
Ella and Serge Shroitman (with daughter Stephanie) were ticketed for blocking their own driveway.
Alexander Ortiz was ticketed for improperly bundling newspapers to be recycled.
Pedro Nazario was ticketed for feeding pigeons in public.
That black license plate frame that came with your car? Illegal. $55 fine.

Taking up two seats on a train? $50.

Feeding pigeons in the park? Another $50.

It used to be that most cops wouldn't bother writing a ticket for minor and obscure infractions.

But with the city hurting for money, ordinary citizens suddenly are finding themselves shelling out hard-earned cash to pay fines for things they didn't even know were against the law.

The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association charges the city has a ticket quota and that there's more pressure than ever on cops to write summonses. The city denies the charges.

But anecdotal evidence is mounting - including the Daily News' report last week about a Bronx man who got a summons for sitting on a milk crate.

The News asked readers to submit their personal tales of ticket blitz woes, and dozens responded.

Jacob Walzer, 28, an office worker from Borough Park, Brooklyn, said he got a nasty surprise last Tuesday when he spotted that dreaded orange envelope under the wiper of his car parked on W. 47th St. near 12th Ave.

The ticket was for "improperly displayed plates."

His rear plate has a black frame around it - a big no-no, as far as the Department of Motor Vehicles is concerned.

"Every car in the city has a frame from the dealer," said Walzer, who didn't realize the frames are illegal. "There are so many laws that people don't know about."

 

Tired of playing bad cop

Officers say they, too, are unhappy with the ticketing blitz, which has them feeling like they're being forced to play the bad guys.

"They call it productivity goals, we call it quotas, and it's a very stressful situation," said Drew Bailey, a Brooklyn union official with the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.

Cops in Brooklyn South, for instance, have been told to write summonses to wayward bicyclists for infractions such as coasting with their feet off the pedals or for riding bicycles without bells, Bailey said.

The PBA even launched a $100,000 ad campaign called "Don't Blame the Cop," charging that law enforcement officers are being pressured to issue more tickets.

"I just feel like now, it's a switcheroo game to find ways to trick people to give them tickets," said T.J. Brady, 29, an electrical supplies salesman who was socked with a $105 parking ticket after he left his car overnight on 10th Ave. in midtown Manhattan last week.

The sign posted overhead indicated it was legal: metered parking from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., and a no-standing zone from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Brady didn't see a sign - inside the meter - that said "no standing." But the little sign inside the meter didn't even give the no-standing hours.

Mayor Bloomberg has defended the city's crackdown, saying the police are simply doing their job. And he has urged New Yorkers to start obeying all the city's laws - and suck it up if they get a ticket.

"Don't throw litter on the streets, and you won't have a problem," he said Wednesday at a Coney Island press conference. "Don't park illegally and you won't have a problem - but we can't have it both ways. We can't have laws that say 'No Parking Here' and then you complain when we give out tickets."

Originally published on May 27, 2003


Here's another article below which appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times several months later...unbelievable!

New York: a fine city . . . a ticket city, too

 

December 7, 2003

BY ZAY N. SMITH CHICAGO SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

 

News Item: Anti-smoking summonses to more than 200 New York City businesses for possession of ashtrays.

News Item: New York man issued summons for sitting on a milk crate in front of a store.

News Item: Man stopped and ticketed for noise pollution by New York police because his small child popped a balloon.

News Item: Pregnant New York woman fined $50 for sitting on subway steps.

News Item: Fine upheld of New York woman who rested an injured leg on an adjoining subway seat.

New York, New York, it's a wonderful town!

 

Headache-inducing policy

The Case for Zero Tolerance of Modern School Administrators (cont'd):

The Bossier Parish School Board in Louisiana, citing its zero-tolerance drug policy, has upheld the expulsion of a high school sophomore because she carried Advil in her purse.


The Police State is Here Folks!

New York Woman Calls 311 to Gripe, Gets $100 Fine

Man Complains at Bank, Gets Arrested and Charged with Felony