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.'

"

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?

"

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.

"

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.

"

Cops Cracking Down on Kids’ Seat Belts

Cops Cracking Down on Kids’ Seat Belts: "
Strap those babies down!

In the first ten months of this year, NYPD officers wrote 4,160 tickets for car-seat violations in the city. That's fourteen a day, and a 55 percent increase over last year. The tickets are issued for not using car seats, not buckling up, or using them improperly. Children up to age 8 must be in booster seats, and fines start at $50. Hear that, parents? You should buckle your kids up this year because cops are on the lookout. Or, you know, because you want them to not die if you get in a car crash. [NYP]

Read more posts by Chris Rovzar

Filed Under: blobs, babies, cops, nypd

"

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."

"

City Council Parking Giveaway Will Bring More Gridlock

City Council Parking Giveaway Will Bring More Gridlock: "

New Yorkers could spend a third of a million more hours a
year stuck in traffic if the “grace period” for parking violations voted
by the City Council this week becomes law.

Photo: @10/Flickr

That’s what the Balanced Transportation
Analyzer traffic-pricing model calculates, based on an assumed 10 percent drop in
issuance of parking tickets. While no one knows just how many fewer tickets
will be issued (none of the 47 council members voting aye on Intro
907 offered a guess), the manifold repercussions for enforcement — a narrower time window,
greater complexity, general undermining of traffic agents — suggest that a one-tenth
drop isn’t unreasonable.

Worsened gridlock follows automatically from making curbside
parking cheaper. The lessened likelihood of being served a parking ticket can
be expected to draw more auto trips into Manhattan
and around town as well. The added congestion isn’t huge; most car trips not made are on account of other
factors, and only a tenth of all parking tickets are being assumed away. But the
impact will be visible.

Most of the estimated 334,000 hours lost, around 85 percent, will come from drivers outside the Manhattan Central Business District, putting an ironic stamp on
Council Member Tish James’ reminder to
the mayor that his narrow re-election was “a call from average New Yorkers
for relief.”

Note: Readers who want
to check the analysis in the BTA should head to the Parking worksheet, a dozen tabs from the back.

"

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."

"

5 Minute Parking Grace Period to Be Vetoed by Bloomberg

5 Minute Parking Grace Period to Be Vetoed by Bloomberg: "

Ryan Muir's Flickr

Today the City Council is expected to pass two laws that would give motorists more wiggle room when fighting parking tickets. The first bill would create a five-minute grace period for drivers for certain no parking zones, such as alternate side parking regulations and expired Muni-Meters. (The bill does not include regular coin-operated, single-space meters, seen failing here.) A second piece of legislation would require the DOT to post notices of new and changed parking restrictions in affected neighborhoods and online up to one week in advance. (Last October, Orthodox Jews in Williamsburg were outraged when the DOT wrote tickets for over 90 vehicles that were violating new parking regulations—on a Saturday.)

But Mayor Bloomberg has vowed to veto the grace period bill, telling reporters today, "I will veto that. I think it’s a very misguided piece of legislation. A 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?' And Transportation Alternatives director Paul Steely White says, "I fail to see how the hands of a wristwatch—no two of which seem to read the same time in this town—are a fairer judge than a clearly expired parking meter. This is irresponsible pandering that will lead to more arguments at the curbside, and a profusion of illegal parking."

According to an extensive 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. In a statement, Council Member Simcha Felder, one of the bills' sponsors, said, "Anyone with common sense and decency understands the need for a five-minute grace period to eliminate ‘gotcha’ tickets."

"