Parking tix blitz is a one-way street

(Photos by David Greene)

By David Greene

As a parking ticket scandal that began in the 52nd Precinct and had spread to police stations city-wide, is now reportedly expanding again to include the NYPD's Highway Patrol. the NYC Transit Police Department, the NYPD's Highway Patrol and even to the New York State Police, as local officers and traffic agents continue their ticket-blitz-- as they themselves continue to park illegally.

On Thursday, April 28, a patrol car from the 48th Precinct was spotted parked in a fire hydrant on Arthur Avenue at E. 187 Street, as an unidentified traffic agent proceeded to issue a summons to Carlos Pena, 41, a foreman at Times Warner Cable.

The agent, who denied it was his vehicle in the hydrant, claimed Pena had parked at the broken meter, longer than the allotted two-hours limit.

Pena stated later, "After I showed the supervisor the ticket, he didn't want to answer my questions, he knew that they had (expletive) on the time he had put on the ticket... and as I argued with him, he just told the agent to get out of there and he just walked away."

According to Pena's ticket, the agent first observed the vehicle at 12 a.m. and the ticket was issued at 12:25 p.m., clearly a mistake. Pena fumed, "First of all they don't work at Midnight and secondly, he didn't see my car there at that time."

Pena claimed he parked at the broken meter for under an hour as he visited a doctors office, he plans to fight the $35 fine, explaining, "The $35 isn't even the point, but what you have to go through to fight them, and these guys feel that they can put down whatever they want to on these ticket's."

Pena said of the supervisor, "He just basically said, 'If you don't lower your voice, I'm not going to talk to you,' and I told him I lowered my voice, I am giving you a chance to talk, but you just keep telling me to lower my voice."

Pena was informed that parking summonses can now be fought online on the City's web site.

Pena claims a second summonses he got along Third Avenue in early April, was for an expired inspection sticker, but Pena says the sticker was good until the end of that month.

Officials from Police Plaza recently stated that all officer's and traffic agents must obey all traffic and parking laws, when not responding to emergencies.

A Bronx Grand Jury is currently listening to testimony charging that officer's and traffic agents have been voiding traffic and parking summonses for friend's and relatives or for cash and gifts.

The scandal has reportedly has implicated a high ranking member of the New York Yankee's organization and an employee at the Bronx District Attorney's office.