Arbitrator Bonnie Siber Weinstock recently ruled that the NYPD has violated state labor law by penalizing officers in a Brooklyn precinct who failed to meet traffic summons quotas. Weinstock based her ruling on internal memos that showed that officers have been required to issue a minimum of four parking tickets, three moving violations, three quality-of-life summonses and two stop-and-frisks each month. Failure to do so would result in a poor annual evaluation and possible disciplinary action. NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg has denied this - saying on his radio show on Friday, 1/20/06 that "There are not ticket quotas, but there are performance standards". Still, the question remains: What should you do if you think you were given a parking ticket to meet a quota? It should be recognized that human error is a factor - perhaps the officer made an honest mistake and wasn't trying to fulfill a quota. People who suspect that they may have been issued a parking ticket to meet a quota or in error should check: Did the police officer that issued the ticket: * Sign it legibly? * Write your correct license plate #? * Write your license plate # legibly? * List the correct model of your car? * List the correct make of your car? * List the correct color of your car? * List the correct location (address) where the infraction occurred? * List the time of the infraction? Furthermore: * Was the time listed indeed within a period where you're not allowed to park? * Was the sign listing the regulation readable? * Was there even a sign posted on the street where you parked? If the answer to any of the above is "No", then you can fight this ticket and if it resulted in your car being towed, you can fight that, too. Gather all evidence (photos, notarized statements from eye-witnesses, copies of the improperly filled out ticket), write a friendly but direct letter explaining why you shouldn't have to pay the ticket (detailing any errors made by the officer who filled out the ticket) and mail it to the address on the back of the ticket with the box "not guilty" checked off. ALWAYS keep copies of both sides of the ticket AND all evidence for your records. Copyright 2006 Rhythmo Productions |
