“Ten days ago I got a ticket
in Manhattan and my car was towed for allegedly parking in a no standing zone.
The address given on the ticket as the "Place of Occurrence" is a
long (avenue) block and a half away from where I was actually parked. I went to
that address, and there is indeed a no standing sign there. But I was not
violating any parking rules where I was actually parked (it was in a street
sweeping zone, and I was not parked during street sweeping time). I am
absolutely 100% sure of where I parked (in fact, I've been street parking my
car in the neighborhood for three and a half years, and I've NEVER parked
anywhere on the block the ticket claims I was on - it is a block with all no
standing/commercial loading)."
"I retrieved my car from the tow pound a couple of
days later (as soon as I realized it was towed), and paid $185 + $20 storage =
$205 to get my car back. The ticket itself (which I have not paid yet) is for
$95. My question is how do I fight this ticket? I have no witnesses, and could
not take a picture of the car where I parked it since it had been towed. Once I
got to see the ticket (after I got my car back) I called the tow pound and
asked if they keep a log of where towed cars were picked up. The person I got
did not have a helpful attitude, and said that information is not recorded. If
I go in for an in-person hearing and testify to the error, what are my chances
of winning? [Do you] have any ideas of another strategy to prove my case?” --–HONESTLY I JOKED AROUND CIRCLING and
KICKING MY CAR.
DEAR HIJACK YOUR CAR: What a disaster. So sorry to
hear about you going through this fiasco, but there seems to be a hole in your
story: “I
retrieved my car from the tow pound a couple of days later (as soon as I
realized it was towed)?” Why did it take you a couple of days to
realize your car was gone from a Manhattan street whether you parked it on the
street as you say or the avenue it was towed from as the ticket indicates? If
the discovery took days why did you leave a car for days parked on a street in
Manhattan to think you can just leave it there and not have it eventually
violate a parking regulation whether it actually did or didn't? Obviously something is missing from your story if
not withheld that needs further explanation, whether it has to do with why you were towed or not. Even if you are a Manhattan resident you should never leave a car parked on a Manhattan street under those circumstances and not monitored for days. Folks: For those contemplating visiting Manhattan in their lifetime: over a half million vehicles visit Manhattan everyday with only so many few STREET parking spaces. The system is set up to make driving and parking in Manhattan difficult if not impossible and VERY EXPENSIVE by getting a ticket REALLY easy. KEEP YOUR CAR OUT OF MANHATTAN. I’m going to take your word,
however to assume what you are telling me is all up and up to proceed further
on what you can do.
I’m further sorry to tell you
that your case will be difficult to prove based on the information you are
giving me here. Unless you can find additional evidence like a video
surveillance camera recording of your vehicle being towed away from the wrong
location based on the ticket, this will be hard to prove, but let’s try to take
a stab at it. Here’s the scoop: whomever you spoke to at the tow pound was
WRONG. Each city tow pound is required to produce a tow sheet (a voucher) for
each car and a tow log entry once the car arrives at the pound. Times are
recorded on either when the car was towed or when it arrived at the pound. By
regulation and LAW the pound MUST keep a record of where EXACTLY the car was
towed, so they require each tow operator to maintain a tow sheet of each car
which includes the who what where when and why of the violation, the description
and contents of the vehicle being brought in for custody, and if there is any
damage to the vehicle. By LAW they are required to give this to you if you ask
for it. Let me give you a piece of advice that was one of the first things I
learned in the police academy: ALWAYS
GET A NAME SO YOU CAN PLACE THE BLAME. Call
back or preferably GO TO that tow pound and ASK TO SPEAK TO A SUPERVISOR:
1. BE NICE as doing so
can get you more help than you were expecting. While what happened to you was
wrong and you are entitled to redress if what you say happened to you is
correct, but on the other hand that job of ticketing and towing is a very
stressful (AND A DANGEROUS) one and mistakes sometimes happen. Get their name,
rank, and badge number, and go about it nicely, please THANK YOU.
2. Explain
what happened. Request a copy of the TOW SHEET. If you are at the pound request
to see the TOW LOG as well. When the tow comes into the pound each car has to
be recorded into a log.
3. Make
sure your car is recorded IN BOTH PLACES. If the locations are different take
either a picture or make a photocopy of the LOG.
4. Compare
the tow location on the ticket to what’s on the tow sheet and the log. If they are different in any way you have a
dismissible violation.
6. There
is also the possibility that your car was relocation towed to the avenue
sometime after you parked it on the street. This most likely could have
happened on a weekend if you parked on a major thoroughfare side street like
Houston, 14th, 23rd, 42nd, etc. and they moved your car to an avenue due to
something like a street fair or the Fourth of July Detail or a parade or demonstration. Check with the police precinct desk to find out
if this was the case; they keep a log of this at the staionhouse. If so, you
have another reason for dismissal and another reason why you should not park a
car to leave it for days even if you think it will be legal there to not go
back and check on it.
7. Plead
“NOT GUILTY” and request either a personal appearance hearing date or mail your
evidence (make photocopies of everything) to have a hearing by mail.
If you get any kind of resistance to any of these above
steps that is where you have to decide if hiring a lawyer is worth the money to
fight this ticket and tow. The ticket says your car was parked at a time, date,
and location that was a violation. You say the car was parked elsewhere
legally under a different regulation. Prove it. You are going to have to prove by preponderance of the
evidence that you were parked elsewhere during the date, time, and location
that is on the ticket, and that is up to you to prove, no one else. If all the
documentation I state you need is all synced and correct, the chances of
dismissal are nil. If one of them is inconsistent, then the chances are more
than 50/50 in your favor. Next time when coming to Manhattan if you don't live there, do yourself a
favor and spare yourself this kind of agony by:
1.
LEAVING YOUR CAR AT HOME. Driving and
parking in Manhattan is only for the foolish or the rich. If you are neither, then you have no
business bringing your car into Manhattan. If you are scared of driving amongst
crazy cabs and heavy traffic in midtown Manhattan, then most likely you don’t
know how to really drive a car at all to have no business driving there or elsewhere PERIOD.
If you take a car into Manhattan to not know what you are
doing then you deserve whatever happens to you and your car as a result, and I
mean it. The same rule
applies for tourists who foolishly visit New York to stay at a Manhattan hotel
and then rent a car to drive around. Unless leaving Manhattan to visit elsewhere off the
island, don’t even rent a car when visiting Manhattan. Cab it or use mass
transit to get there faster than you would with your car. If you are from
nearby out of town and wish to drive to visit New York, then park your car at a
Metro North, Jersey Transit, or Long Island Railroad station outside the city
where permits are NOT required, and then train into Manhattan to enjoy your
visit. Besides it’s way less stressful this way.
2. PARKING YOUR CAR IN A GARAGE INSTEAD. If
you insist on being foolish or money is no object, then don’t be cheap to actually spend
the money.
A two-hour visit in a garage during the day for an appointment in midtown is
what, $20-$30 plus tip? The worst you have to worry is the extra expense and
your car getting scratched or dented by a parking attendant. You face the same
issues when you park on the street plus your car getting vandalized as well. If
you insist on being cheap, then you should have considered this to leave the
car at home and spend subway fare to get around Manhattan, which is faster and
cheaper. You become more foolish than cheap to overlook that gas is now over $4/gallon and not worth it wasting time and gas circling around looking for a parking spot that rarely exists in Manhattan.
3. TAKING THE SUBWAY OR BUS TO GET AROUND
TOWN. If you don’t feel
safe riding on a train or bus in New York City, even after all that effort the
last thirty years by the police to bring crime and terrorism down to the ridiculously
safe rates they are now, then you have no business visiting anything about New
York City AT ALL. You don’t get it and you miss the entire point. Do New
Yorkers a favor and spend your money to go elsewhere.
So you are WARNED: driving and parking in Manhattan is not
for the faint of heart! There is no law that says you can park a car in New
York City or Manhattan for that matter and leave it there for days in the same
spot without it eventually violating a parking regulation. Even if the signs
don’t say you can. You should have checked that car EVERY DAY to make sure it
was still there and to make sure things like temporary signs weren’t placed for
things like for filming or construction permits. The tow pound might have been
wrong for towing your car if what you say is true, but you parking your car
where and how you did for all that time wasn’t right either. But don’t let this
alarm you HIJACK YOUR CAR, I’m still on your side. Although you are the one who has to pay the
money to get your car back and to pay the ticket fine, you can afford to be
more wrong than the tow pound can about where the car was actually parked, which
is why I hope you are able to get the ticket dismissed. But I’m giving some
tuff luv ferya in the meantime. Good luck with the ticket!
Suggested
Reading:
DEAR NO UNDERSTANDING ZONE: The New York City
Department of Transportation has a great guide to go by when it comes to
the difference between parking, standing, and stopping. Many cities like New
York are developing a ZERO TOLERANCE policy when it comes to parking
regulations pertaining to occupied cars where they will come up to you and
ticket you right away without waiting for an explanation. Be on the lookout for
this kind of tactic particularly in cities and parts of towns where traffic is
particularly heavy, and where there are lots of tourist attractions and
landmarks, like Washington, DC. For understandable reasons law enforcement
agencies like the Capitol Police and the US Parks Police DO NOT want people
standing or stopping their cars near any structure or landmark on the National
Mall. God forbid they catch you in your car standing on a curb next to things
like the Lincoln Memorial. Without hesitation they will ticket you right there
and then WITH NO WARNING.
