City Council to Overturn Grace Period, Clergy Parking Vetoes

City Council to Overturn Grace Period, Clergy Parking Vetoes: "

Last week, Mayor Bloomberg vetoed the 5-minute grace period bill which was overwhelmingly passed by the City Council. He also vetoed a similar bill which would allow clergy to receive city-issued free parking permits. Today it was expected that the Council's Transportation Committee is expected to overrule the vetoes on both bills. This would be followed by the full Council voting to overrule on Dec. 21, with both bills becoming law 90 days thereafter.

A limited amount of parking permits are given out to clergy as of now, but with heavy restrictions, so only a fraction of the city's religious officials are able to receive them. Nonetheless, the City Council voted unanimously, 49-0, in favor of the new bill. Along with his veto, Mayor Bloomberg argued, 'By expanding the scope of privileges offered to clergy permit holders and increasing the number of individuals and motor vehicles eligible for such permits, this bill would make fewer spaces available within the city, to the detriment of residents, local businesses and the general public.' Or maybe it would just 'generate confusion with drivers and prove difficult to enforce.'

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Free Parking Through iPhone App

Free Parking Through iPhone App: "

Of all the NYC Big Apps contenders (Taxihack is one), we think the NYC Broken Meters will be the most used and abused. The app uses the city's own data to locate broken meters, allowing users to score free parking! The NY Post points out that under city law, parking at broken-meter spots is permitted 'for at least an hour.'

Most shocking is that the city made the data available specifically for the app, and the creator, Raviv Turner, says it's a win-win situation 'because it may help motivate the city to fix broken meters.' Turner also hopes in the next version users will be able to upload information on broken meters not yet listed, though drivers may not be anxious to alert The Man of the free parking they've scored.

Right now you can locate about 1,000 busted meters using the app. Check out the top 10 Big Apps here; there's something for cyclists, tree lovers, dog owners, foodies... none for stroller pushers though. What other apps would New Yorkers find useful?

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Video: Anthony Bourdain on 'Alt Side'

Video: Anthony Bourdain on 'Alt Side': "

Only in New York, where parking is just one of the hassles of daily life. Witness Alt Side (after alternate-side parking), a mini interview show whose conceit is to chat with noted folks while trying to find a spot. The concept seems a bit contrived, but if you're fan of Anthony Bourdain, you can listen to his three minutes of car talk after the jump.

Anthony Bourdain on Alt Side

Alt Side airs on New York Nonstop, channel 161 on Time-Warner Cable in New York.

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Parking Ticket Grace Period Vetoed by Bloomberg

Parking Ticket Grace Period Vetoed by Bloomberg: "

Last week a Bronx motorist threw a ticket agent's hand-held computer to the ground during an angry dispute over a parking ticket issued minutes after his Muni-Meter expired. 'I get a five-minute grace period. It was in the media, today on the news,' George Collazo reportedly yelled during the altercation. George, if you're reading this, we regret to inform you that your grace is still denied.

Yesterday Mayor Bloomberg made good on his threat to veto a parking grace period bill passed by the City Council last month by a vote of 47-2. The bill would give drivers an extra five minutes past the expired time on Muni-Meters and alternate-side parking (but not coin-operated, single-space meters.) As he proscribed grace, Hizzoner declared, 'While characterized as a 'grace period' to benefit drivers who are rushing to their vehicles, this universal extension of time for drivers would have the practical effect of impeding traffic flow and disrupting street cleaning operations. It would thus have a negative impact on the quality of life for all city residents. Additionally, the bill could generate confusion for drivers and prove difficult to enforce.' (You do hate to see that.)

City Councilman Simcha Felder wasn't happy about the veto, and the City Council may override it: 'People are getting tired of the gotcha. I'm a big supporter of the mayor's, but I respectfully disagree. The [five-minute grace period] was in effect for many years without anyone having any difficulty.' Indeed, there used to be an informal grace period when traffic enforcement was controlled by the DOT. When the NYPD took over, traffic agents were instructed to ticket immediately.

According to an analysis conducted by the Times last year, almost 300,000 alternate side violations were issued within five minutes of the rule taking effect in 2007. Of those, nearly 28,000 tickets were issued exactly on the hour that the rule went into effect.

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Reporter Checks Out Muni-Meter "Grace Periods"

Reporter Checks Out Muni-Meter "Grace Periods": "

Photograph of one bad Muni Meter parking job by Lorcan Otway on Flickr

Earlier this week, the City Council passed a bill to add a five-minute grace period for drivers in certain no parking zones, such as alternate side parking regulations and expired Muni-Meters. Amid debate about the bill's worthiness, Mayor Bloomberg vowed to veto the legislation, saying 'The five-minute grace period is only going to lead to chaos and enormous increases in the number of contested tickets, and in argument. Whose watch are you going to use?' Well, based on one Daily News reporter's experience, maybe it doesn't matter at all!

Reporter Kate Nocera parked her 'battered Honda Civic' in six different locations across the city: 'My first stop was Atlantic Ave. in downtown Brooklyn, where I imagined ticket agents would swoop down like pigeons on a discarded sandwich. My muni-meter expired at 1:48. It wasn't until an hour later that I got a ticket. Dumb luck, I thought - until it kept happening.'

Indeed—Nocera managed to escape without tickets for 30 minutes to an hour in Bushwick and downtown Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. Only the traffic enforcement agent in the Bronx ticketed her 4 minutes after the Muni-Meter expired. She decided after this assignment, "I'm going to be extra vigilant about feeding meters and switching sides. After this run of luck, I'm pretty sure my parking karma has totally run out."

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Debate Rages Over New Parking Ticket Grace Period

Debate Rages Over New Parking Ticket Grace Period: "

jpchan's Flickr

On Monday the City Council passed a bill that would give motorists a five minute grace period on parking tickets issued at Muni-Meters or when a vehicle is in violation of alternate side parking regulations. Mayor Bloomberg has vowed to veto it, but the Council approved it 47 to 2, and they only need a two-thirds vote to override a veto, meaning the law could very well take effect in 90 days. Will 'chaos' reign, as Bloomberg predicts, or will motorists receive a welcome relief from 'parking enforcement officers hiding behind the bushes, waiting for the meter to run out,' as one parking commissioner in White Plains puts it?

Critics say the grace period will only inflame the already heated arguments between traffic agents and car owners, but the bill’s sponsor, Councilman Simcha Felder of Brooklyn, tells the Times, "They’re issuing tickets now and no one is confused about the time, right? If they say it’s 9:01 and a taxpayer says it’s 8:59, the taxpayer is still getting the ticket, so whatever you do now you’ll continue doing." And one traffic agent, who gave an anonymous quote to the Times, believes the grace period "will make people more happy" and "will make my job easier."

White Plains and Miami have had grace periods for years, and there used to be an informal grace period when traffic enforcement was controlled by the DOT. When the NYPD took over, traffic agents were instruct to ticket immediately, and a recent study found that many agents issued tickets at the exact moment the time expires. Bloomberg has thirty days to veto the bill, but Bay Ridge Councilman Vincent Gentile tells the Brooklyn Eagle, "We’re confident that we have enough votes to override his veto."

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Bloomberg Promises "Smart" Parking Meters, Amnesty, Sensitivity

Bloomberg Promises "Smart" Parking Meters, Amnesty, Sensitivity: "

A poster for Bloomberg's rival, Montgomery Burns.

There's no stopping Mayor Bloomberg from buying another term, so it's not like he has to win anybody's approval. Still, it's nice to see he's at least making an effort, rolling out the campaign promises just like any other average Joe politician. In an Op-Ed in one of the tabloids today, Bloomberg asks, "How would you like to use your mobile device to see a map of available parking spaces in your neighborhood—and also use it to pay your meter? Or how about getting a text message as your meter is about to expire, so you can get back to your car before getting a ticket?' It's a start... but can these new meters give us back rubs too, like the ones in Japan?

Well, if that's not enough to get you to passively submit to plutocracy, try this on for size: In his third term, Bloomberg promises to 'explore the possibility' of eliminating the $2 fee to pay parking tickets by credit card, as well as an amnesty program to get some of the $700 million the city is owed from old tickets. Long live Bloomberg! He's also vaguely promising to increase 'sensitivity training' for traffic enforcement agents, which sounds very Clockwork Orange, and we like it.

But the 'smart parking meter' vow is definitely the most interesting part of Bloomberg's pandering. And for a mayor that's perceived by some as too anti-car and pro-bicycle, the sop to motorists will probably help his all-but-guaranteed re-election. Still, presumptive loser Bill Thompson is trying to quaintly reason with voters; his spokesman is begging New Yorkers to realize this is all just a 'stunt.' Whatever; A.I. parking meters!

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NYPD's Parking Placards Cop Allegedly Hooked Up Gal Pal

NYPD's Parking Placards Cop Allegedly Hooked Up Gal Pal: "

Responding to the glut of city employees' parking placards—which let them park for free at meters and many off-limits areas—last year the mayor's office managed to cut the 144,160 placards by over 20 percent. To accomplish this goal, the city consolidated control over the placards with the NYPD; formerly each city agency got to dole out their own. The NYPD's point person for determining which officers got placards was Lt. Jemal Doute, the head of the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau's Vehicle Placard Unit—until recently, when it was discovered that a female friend of Doute's obtained one of the "older" models of the placards through Doute.

Doute, a 15-year veteran, faces departmental charges of failing to safeguard a department placard, and will be transferred. He says the woman was a friend who had recently stopped by his office, and he claims that she must have swiped the placard without his permission. A patrol cop spotted the outdated placard on the dashboard of a parked car in Brooklyn several months ago and notified Internal Affairs. Now the Post is calling Doute the department's 'plaque sheep.'

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