glock
"Don't grumble, give a whistle!"
Well, actually fighting a parking ticket in NYC. Bear with me. While it was cathartic for me, it got a little long...
On December 30th two of my son's and I head into The Big Apple from The Isle of Long. Our mission is threefold:
1- replace a custom longboard that broke when my youngest was hit from behind by a motorcycle (he bailed just in time and is fine) at a shop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn...
2- deliver my eldest son's Xmas booty to him at work on Vesey St. (couldn't carry it in on the train- he lives in Lower Manhattan)...
3- Visit Rockefeller Center, see the tree/scene and grab some pizza before heading home...
We arrive at the custom shop to find it closed- although it should be open. Harbinger of things to come? Nah- a quick phone call and we find a sister store to be open just across the Williamsburg Bridge on the Lower East Side. Score! It's on our way. We get there just as it's getting dark and actually find several parking spots open not far from the store. A parking sign right where we parked states "2 hour parking 9AM-7PM M-F" so we are all set at 4:45PM. My son takes care of his board business and we head off to Vesey St.
My son comes out to meet us, we BS a bit and he hauls his sack of goodies up to his office. So far, so good. After doing a few loops uptown we manage to grab a spot a block away from Rockefeller Center. The sign clearly states "Muni-Meter" so we stroll down the block to feed the meter. Upon arriving back at the truck I notice something folded up under the wiper blade. It's a parking ticket from our longboard stop. States I didn't feed the meter. $75.00!!
No ####### way!
I tell my boys that we will be heading back downtown to check this out when we are done uptown.
Fast forward- It turns out that there is indeed a "Muni-Meter" on the block by the board shop- located at curbside a good 50 feet from where I parked. There is no mention of the "need to feed" anywhere on any street signs. To top it off, there is construction going on above with scaffolding in place that steers pedestrians up close against the store fronts- and some 15 feet from the Muni-Meter.
I snap off a bunch of pictures to document the scene, and we return home. That week I submit my "not guilty" plea via the .gov web site. I state my case and proudly upload the 6 numbered, re-sized and compressed photos to go along with it. Any reasonable human being should understand that the circumstances we encountered- especially as "out of towners" lead to our not feeding the meter.
Three days later I get my response: GUILTY.
One meter located on a city block is all that is required. It goes on to state that should I wish to appeal I will need to include pictures or video that clearly indicates the addresses in question, etc. SRSLY??
Mrs glock tells me to just pay the ticket. But I want justice, dammit!!
My odds of beating this?
On December 30th two of my son's and I head into The Big Apple from The Isle of Long. Our mission is threefold:
1- replace a custom longboard that broke when my youngest was hit from behind by a motorcycle (he bailed just in time and is fine) at a shop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn...
2- deliver my eldest son's Xmas booty to him at work on Vesey St. (couldn't carry it in on the train- he lives in Lower Manhattan)...
3- Visit Rockefeller Center, see the tree/scene and grab some pizza before heading home...
We arrive at the custom shop to find it closed- although it should be open. Harbinger of things to come? Nah- a quick phone call and we find a sister store to be open just across the Williamsburg Bridge on the Lower East Side. Score! It's on our way. We get there just as it's getting dark and actually find several parking spots open not far from the store. A parking sign right where we parked states "2 hour parking 9AM-7PM M-F" so we are all set at 4:45PM. My son takes care of his board business and we head off to Vesey St.
My son comes out to meet us, we BS a bit and he hauls his sack of goodies up to his office. So far, so good. After doing a few loops uptown we manage to grab a spot a block away from Rockefeller Center. The sign clearly states "Muni-Meter" so we stroll down the block to feed the meter. Upon arriving back at the truck I notice something folded up under the wiper blade. It's a parking ticket from our longboard stop. States I didn't feed the meter. $75.00!!
No ####### way!
I tell my boys that we will be heading back downtown to check this out when we are done uptown.Fast forward- It turns out that there is indeed a "Muni-Meter" on the block by the board shop- located at curbside a good 50 feet from where I parked. There is no mention of the "need to feed" anywhere on any street signs. To top it off, there is construction going on above with scaffolding in place that steers pedestrians up close against the store fronts- and some 15 feet from the Muni-Meter.
I snap off a bunch of pictures to document the scene, and we return home. That week I submit my "not guilty" plea via the .gov web site. I state my case and proudly upload the 6 numbered, re-sized and compressed photos to go along with it. Any reasonable human being should understand that the circumstances we encountered- especially as "out of towners" lead to our not feeding the meter.
Three days later I get my response: GUILTY.
One meter located on a city block is all that is required. It goes on to state that should I wish to appeal I will need to include pictures or video that clearly indicates the addresses in question, etc. SRSLY??Mrs glock tells me to just pay the ticket. But I want justice, dammit!!
My odds of beating this?
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