NYC Nixes Tickets Wrongly Issued When Rules Suspended

New York City will be dismissing parking tickets that had been wrongly issued earlier this month on days that alternate side parking rules were suspended for snow removal, Councilman Chaim Deutsch announced Thursday.

When parking rules are in effect, drivers are not allowed to park in spots set aside for street cleaning so muni-meters are programmed to reject payment during that time frame. However, when these regulations are suspended, the meters cannot be remotely reprogrammed to allow payment. Motorists are then unable to purchase a muni-meter receipt despite being legally allowed to park there.

The first 18 days of January saw alternate side parking rules suspended 11 times. Deutsch, a Midwood Democrat, said he secured a commitment from city agencies to have the violations dismissed. Anyone who paid the $35 fine will have it refunded.

The NYPD will institute a policy for the future in which traffic agents will be advised not to issue violations when there is a rules suspension.

Anyone who received a parking violation need not pay the ticket. Those who paid should contact Deutsch’s office at 718-368-9176 or CDeutsch@council.nyc.gov.