Results tagged “graceperiod”

Mayor Bloomberg says that if the City Council's planned five-minute grace period for parking violations goes into effect, there will be "chaos" on the streets. Based on this Daily News article, that already seems to be the case — and the law isn't even on the books yet.

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!

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?

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.)

When one Upper East Side subway station was not prepared for the final transition over to the newly-priced unlimited Metrocards post-fare hike, straphangers freaked the fudge out. The Post describes the scene at the 86th Street station for the 4, 5, 6 where commuters were "banging the station agent booth window, crying, and forming lines that were 30-people deep at the card vending machines — until one broke down." Since yesterday was the end of the grace period for monthly cards purchased at the pre-fare hike rates, many were forced to exchange their $81 cards when they wouldn't swipe. The station had a mere 50 pre-paid envelopes to give to riders to mail their not fully-used MetroCards back to the MTA for a pro-rated reimbursement that were quickly snatched up, adding to the chaos. The Post says there wasn't even a sign up letting riders know that their old cards wouldn't work. While a NYCT spokesman has already apologized to riders, one commuter told the paper, "I'm hot, frustrated, and they should have honored the old cards. This is bull." No word on if he was crying while quoted.

Keep those quarters handy. Starting at midnight Sunday, the base fare on New York City subways and buses is going up for the first time since 2003—from $2.00 to $2.25. Unlimiteds are also rising in price across the board, with monthly Metrocards going from $81 to $89. If you're on a weekly card or have a longer one about to expire, you might want to make a trip to your nearest subway station this evening to pick a card up the old rates. But don't think about stockpiling them—the grace period to use start using cards purchased at the old rate is Monday July 6th. Funny that the fare hikes have fallen so close to Independence Day without using the holiday for the changeover. Fourth of July was the date that both the free transfer from subways to buses (and vice-versa) debuted and unlimited Metrocards were introduced, in 1997 and 1998 respectively. Signs of this most recent change have been appearing underground this week—sometimes as seen here in as many as five languages at once.

Since it's unclear whether the State Legislature will make a deal to help out the MTA (they claim to want to, but there's no agreement on a plan), the MTA has no choice but to tell commuters what to expect with their unlimited Metrocards as "doomsday," May 31—the day fares go up about 25%— approaches.

Council Members Davide Weprin, Simcha Felder and Vincent Gentile ripped up mock parking tickets in front of City Hall yesterday to protest what Gentile calls "a ticketing blitz, with New Yorkers being treated as revenue sources instead of residents, targets instead of partners." The Councilmen have introduced a bill that would require a five-minute "grace period" for certain parking violations, including no parking zones (such as alternate side) and expired Muni-Meters.