60 second freak’n grace period!
Does this seem extreme to you? Or am i just a big baby?
I double park my car once a week in the CG neighborhood (along with all my neighbors). To those who are unfamiliar this mean that from 11:00-2:00 you move your car to the opposite side of the street so the cleaners can get by (blocking in the parked cars).
Today at 2:00 I round the corner to my street (and am less than 10 meters from my car) when I spy with my little eye a nasty traffic agent standing by my car. I run towards her (time is probably now 2:00 and 30 seconds) yelling “Oh don’t worry - I’m moving it right now”. She doesn’t budge “You are already in the system, I can’t delete it.”
I reply “What? It’s 2:00?”
She replies “No, It is 2:01. I gave you time. I waited for you.”
“You waited for me? You gave me TIME?!? YOU GAVE ME 60 SECONDS!!!!” I reply - thoroughly agitated.
” I waited for you.” she replies.
And I’m thinking, you evil little bottom feeding traffic shark. You waited all right. You waited for your clock to strike 2:00:01 and give me a freak’n ticket. 60 Seconds - how very generous of you!
“That’s cold” I tell her.
She prints out the $115 ticket with a time stamp of 2:02 and goes along her merry way.
Once she has left, a neighbor of mine across the street tells me that there is 5 minute grace period in New York City, and offers to be a witness should I decide to plead not guilty. (Really, what a nice guy! I love this neighborhood). Has anybody heard of this grace period before? Do I have any chance of winning a challenge to this ticket?
I have never argued against a ticket before, and normally pay right away, admitting my fault. But this, well this really pisses me off. I should get at least a 120 second benefit of the doubt on my own street.
p.s: If I had been 5 minutes late - I woulda paid without comment.
March 24th, 2006 at 4:39 am
Unfortuneately from today’s Gridlock Sam in the D News…
Dear Sam:
In Park Slope, Brooklyn, it is an accepted practice for residents to double-park in order to comply with alternate side regulations.
They leave a phone number on their dashboard where they can be reached in the event they block another car. I assumed it was okay do the same in Marine Park, but I was ticketed.
Why is it permissible to park this way in Park Slope but not Marine Park?
John, Brooklyn
Dear John:
When it comes to double parking, in some neighborhoods the police look the other way, but in others they don’t. And even in those neighborhoods where it’s often overlooked, the police do have some unofficial guidelines.
Commercial streets and streets with buses are usually not included. Even on the other streets, the NYPD will often respond to a complaint and ticket double-parked cars, and they reserve the right to change policy at any time.
All this being said, the law is clear: Double parking is ALWAYS prohibited, no matter where it is. So the fact that you received a ticket in Marine Park and not Park Slope is immaterial. No judge would accept that as a defense.
March 24th, 2006 at 4:52 am
I don’t know about the grace period - I suspect that if there was one it would come from the good graces of a slow moving agent. Once the ticket is written, no way you’re getting traffic court to acknowledge the grace period. If I were you, and I had the time to spare to fight this ticket, I’d go to traffic court and lay it all out - but don’t rely on the grace period defense. If there is no grace period - you lose. Period. If you tell your story, you got a 50/50 shot at getting some type of compromise fine.
Either way, you get a good story for the blog.
I used to marvel at how quickly the traffic agents got to my block. It was almost as if there was an agent waiting at the top of every block waiting to pounce.
March 24th, 2006 at 3:06 pm
That really sucks. I have nothing useful to say, but I feel your frustration. I don’t have a car, but I cringe when I see the traffic agents out there, gleefully ticketing cars. You have to have a spefifc type of personality to that for a living.
March 24th, 2006 at 3:20 pm
The first thing you should do is check the ticket for errors. If the color of your car, zip code, address, etc., ANYTHING, is incorrect on the ticket, you can get it thrown out.
March 27th, 2006 at 2:53 pm
I live next door in CH. My car’s inspection sticker expired on March 17th. The ticket was written for the invalid sticker at 8:01 AM that day.
One can only imagine what life would be like if we got the same quick response from other government services…
March 27th, 2006 at 5:29 pm
Same thing happened to me (cobble hill). I tried to fight it, and was told that double parking is always illegal. The thing that gets me is that the fine for double parking is $115, the fine for not moving your car in the first place is only $45.
March 29th, 2006 at 2:35 pm
This may be a bit out of the way. But if you ever find yourself travelling over the Verrazano Bridge, make sure to use your signal whenever you need to switch lanes. They are ticketing like crazy anyone who switches lane without signaling. And don’t even think about speeding a mile or two over the speed limit!!
March 29th, 2006 at 8:10 pm
The ‘grace period’ is a myth, don’t even try to plead it because they will laugh you out of the court room and berate you for wasting their time. The ticketing in Carroll Gardens is out of control, and I have about $1500 worth of tickets from the past year and a half to underscore that. They are merciless bastards. I’ve seen them run down the block with their fancy little ticketing machines, I’ve seen them circling the blocks menacingly in tow trucks minutes before restrictions end. I don’t know if it’s the central location of the 76th precinct, but it’s ridiculous to the oint of EXTORTION. My husband works from home, and it’s gotten to the point that I have my Outlook scheduled to remind me to call him about moving the car every Tuesday and Thursday.
March 30th, 2006 at 1:02 am
Sandra, you’re lucky you don’t live in Red Hook, which is also part of the 76th, because we have to move our cars 4 times a week and they are just as vigilant about tickets there! The guy in his little ticket mobile waits at the end of my block for the strike of 8am and then goes down the street tickiting left and right. I was ticketed for being too close to a fire hydrant when I was about 20 ft. away. I contested the ticket by mail with photogrpahic evidence and it was thrown out. Another time I was ticketed for parking on the wrong side of the street on a block that had NO parking signs. The officer was just down the block so I asked him why I had been ticketed. He said I was parked on the wrong side of the street and I said “Where are the signs saying that?” He told me they were all torn down but that “I’m supposed to know” when the alternate side parking is…Unbelievable. I contested that one too and sent in photographs showing no signs on the block and it was also thrown out. So, it’s always worth contesting if you think you have a chance.
March 30th, 2006 at 8:18 pm
go to nyc.gov/finance, you can dispute your case online. Tell your story, that you acted in good faith and the judge will most always reduce your ticket. You will not get out of paying, but at least you will not pay full price. Always dispute a ticket, most small business delivery trucks get tix for double parking and they get all of their fines reduced, so why shouldn’t you. I would be very surprised if your ticket is not reduced, keep us posted. Good Luck.
March 31st, 2006 at 8:25 pm
I love this site, but I am sorry, I think you deserve the ticket! You were double parked, it was past the time allotted, and that is that.
I live on Henry street, and I can’t stand the fact that everyone double parks during street cleaning hours. While another poster above said that people sometimes leave their phone numbers on their windshield, I do not find that to be the case on my block. Inevitably, on every street cleaning day, the air is filled with honking and shouting from cars that are blocked in. and people usually double park too far from the other legally parked car, not leaving enough room for the UPS truck, or a moving van. Twice a week there is a mini traffic mess on my block, and i think it sucks!
I lived in SF for many years (with its equally draconian parking and street cleaning situation), and I was shocked when I moved to Brooklyn and saw the double parking situation.
March 31st, 2006 at 8:48 pm
Well GGG,
I’m going to have to disagree with you. Infact, I think that it is actually kind of wonderful that the neighborhood pulls together to orchestrate a workable solution to the lack of parking in the area, and the fact that it would be virtually impossible for everybody to move to an alternate side space. This is why I was especially frustrated with my 2:02 ticket. The entire street pulls together for a solution but the parking agent is still completely inflexible.
I live on 2nd place and there is actually no honking or shouting or anything. People just quietly move their cards back and forth - the silent dance of the double parked cars.
I’ve also decided not to fight the ticket because I can’t afford 8 hours at city hall. And, based on the feedback I’ve gotten - when it gets down to it double parking is illegal, so while i could fight it, i was still illegally parked for 3 hours. That said it DOES tick me off that the ticket for NOT Moving your car at all is $45 - and by trying to do my part and arriving 2 minutes late i got a $115 ticket. OUCH.
Oh, and last but not least - the next day I got a ticket for my expired (by 2 weeks) inspection. It just wasn’t my week.
March 31st, 2006 at 9:25 pm
Now, while I consider myself a law-abiding citizen and (somewhat) buy into the ‘rules were created for a reason’ schtick, I absolutely disagree with ggg. There *should* be a grace period, by all means, if only five minutes. That’s easily the discrepancy between one person’s clock and another! And that’s got nothing to do with law-breaking, it’s got to do with realistic courtesy.
April 1st, 2006 at 1:05 am
why not just move your car when your required to… 5 minutes prior. if you’re lucky enough to be home to do this… then i have no sympathy. i have to move my car to a spot thats good all day… sometimes to red hook. in fact, i dont understand what all you people do, who aren’t at work… wtf.
April 1st, 2006 at 1:19 am
Well, I sure don’t wish a $115 parking ticket on anyone! I feel terrible for you that you have to either pay up or deal with fighting the ticket. That is a drag on all counts. I totally understand the misery of racking up tickets; one time in SF I got a $250 ticket for parking too close too the bus stop. Grrr.
But then, i also cheered when jerks who blocked my driveway, or parked on the sidewalk (a crazy illegal San Francisco parking hell move) got ticketed. Hmmm….. Maybe I have a secret career as a meter maid ahead of me.
So why should there be a grace period on a practice that is already a three hour grace period? The fact that the parking people look the other way for those 3 hours and allow people to doiuble park with immunity is pretty cool. Don’t take advantage of it, I guess.
Thanks for showing me that it is actually a great neighborhood solution; I am glad that you helped me see it in that light.
April 3rd, 2006 at 6:48 pm
something similar happened to me.. i was parked on a street where street cleaning started at 8am. I was there at 8 am and the cop was already writing the ticket, he said he already put it in the system. I fought it on the website and it was reduced by a few dollars. At that point you have the option to pay the reduced fine or don’t do anything. If you don’t pay it, the ticket goes to a judge. You run the risk of paying the full fine but you can also get the whole thing taken away. I decided not to pay the reduced fine and I won the case.
Good luck!
April 5th, 2006 at 4:07 pm
ggg: why don’t you just go back to SF?!
April 11th, 2006 at 3:11 pm
Uh, lets see here. Double-parking is illegal. The City gives people a break (when they feel like it) b/c they know how hard it is to park so they let it slide during alternate side parking. But there is no grace period for illegal parking. As to the argument that its “only” $45 for alternate side, but $115 for double-parking, you run the risk of being towed for any violation, so you are gambling if you dont move at 8 or 11 or 2.
The agents suck, and they have no mercy. They are all working against a quota, and you were easy pickings. Walking to work yesterday at 8:01, I saw cops doling out tickets to every car on Douglas Street that missed the 8 am target.
If you have the time, go plead the ticket down at Borough Hall. You may catch a break on the fine, or if you are really lucky, the ticket is flawed and it will have to be dismissed. Much less likely if written with one of the electronic gizmos, but worth the shot. It will not take 8 hours.
October 30th, 2006 at 11:33 am
I recieved a ticket for double parking, but was never parked. No officer gave me a ticket-so I have to assume it was done from camera. the road was conjested so my wife ran out to get burger king and returned to the van. If the car is running and occupied is it double parking,especially in slow to non moving traffic? It was a conjested construction area (White plains rd/Peham pkwy)
March 16th, 2007 at 12:41 am
I am not double parking. I was ticketed for not moving the car for street cleaning from 9:30am to 11am. The truth is that I went to move the car at 9:30am but the ticket is aleady there for 9:32am. So is their watch accurate ? Can I dispute? Anyway what they do is very sneaky.
It is $45. I do not have time to go to the court and dispute. But I really do not want to check the ‘guity’ checkbox on the ticket in order to pay the $45.
Any suggestion ?
April 17th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
Hi. I have a question. I was issued a 6 point speeding ticket on 4/12/07. The officer recorded my information down on the ticket but there is one minor error. On the ticket he wrote my zip code as 11368, but on my license it clearly says 11366. Is there a possibility that I can have this ticket dismissed? Thanks for the time guys.
August 14th, 2007 at 2:49 am
I would give it a shot. Even if you dont win, at least you tried.
October 4th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
Wow, $1700 apartments, car payments, and insurance.
You guys must be making a great living to afford all that.
January 8th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
I too, have heard of this 5 minute grace period. Fight it! The worst situation would be a rejection of your not guilty plea. You don’t have to go down to the dmv. Just say that you watch read 8:58.