Parking ticket while I was paying at the meter!

A

ambrogo

New Member
Jurisdiction
New York
I was parking in New York City and went to one of those muni-meters or whatever they are called to pay to get a ticket to park. It wasn't so easy to find because it was at the end of the block. I bought my ticket and came back to my car and found a parking meter maid writing a ticket. I was pretty upset and told the traffic officer that I was getting my ticket to pay and showed it to her. She didn't care and said that it doesn't matter and that the car was left without a ticket and she had to write up a ticket for the car.

So I am confused. How is anyone supposed to pay for parking without leaving their car? There aren't enough of these parking meters near the parking spots and you have to leave the aread of the car to buy a ticket to put into the car windshield area.
 
ambrogo said:
So I am confused. How is anyone supposed to pay for parking without leaving their car? There aren't enough of these parking meters near the parking spots and you have to leave the aread of the car to buy a ticket to put into the car windshield area.
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She doesn't have to believe that the car hadn't been parked there for some time or that you didn't hastily pay the fee upon seeing her writing up up the ticket. The car was parked and didn't have the stub showing the fee was paid. That's all she needs for the ticket. The timing of the events is unfortunate, but from her perspective the ticket is good. You may of course contest the ticket and see if the hearing officer will accept your version of the facts and dismiss the ticket, though. Whether that is worth your time and effort to take that chance is something you'll have to decide.
 
Hopefully you have saved the parking pass and it had a date and time. If the date and time are similar to the time the citation was issued then appeal the ticket. You will have to investigate to learn the procedure, but there is one.
 
mightymoose said:
Hopefully you have saved the parking pass and it had a date and time. If the date and time are similar to the time the citation was issued then appeal the ticket. You will have to investigate to learn the procedure, but there is one.
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I wonder how often people walk to up their car as it is being ticketed and then rush to the kiosk to get a payment coupon that is similar to the time the citation was issued. If the judge is in a good mood and the person is convincing, it might work, but I would guess that judges hear that frequently enough that they don't buy it very often.
Of course, if the ticket is time-stamped BEFORE the ticket was issued, then the OP would have a much better chance of prevailing.
 
mightymoose said:
You will have to investigate to learn the procedure, but there is one.
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No investigation is necessary - all of that information is printed right on the Notice of Violation.

Hearings (not "appeals") are conducted in person, by mail, or online according to the provided instructions.
 
Zigner said:
Of course, if the ticket is time-stamped BEFORE the ticket was issued, then the OP would have a much better chance of prevailing.
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Chances are that the TEA was using a computer to issue the NoV. It's time stamped as soon as the registration sticker is scanned.

The OP may have a better idea of the timing - I know when I pay at a muni-meter I always look back at my car right before I start punching buttons and I see a lot of people do the same thing. Based on what he said, it sounds likely (or at least possible) that the TEA just started the writing as he approached - if that's true then his receipt is probably time-stamped first.

If the TEA started "writing" before the OP got to the meter then she probably would have been finished and gone before the OP even noticed her.
 
Seems pretty bogus that the citation was still issued when he is standing there with a permit in his hand.

Around here there is no hearing. Either pay or go through an appeals officer. Regardless of what it is called, there is a process to have it reviewed by a third party.
 
I can't help comparing this with an experience I had while visiting in the UK. My friend and I pulled into a car park where you paid in advance by putting coins in a slot marked with the number of your space. I don't recall the exact rates but it was something on the order of two pounds for the first hour and a pound for every hour after that. There were two boards at opposite ends of the lot and the one nearer to us was broken. When I made my way to the one that was working the guy was just doing the hourly check. I told him what space I was in and that I was just coming to pay - I'd been delayed by the broken board at the other end. He said, "Well, then, dear, how long do you think you'll be?" I said I wasn't sure but we would be at least two and a half hours, possibly longer but if so, not longer than three hours. He said, "Give me three pounds and we'll call it square." I pointed out to him that I should, by rights, owe him at least four pounds; he put a finger to his lips and said, "Ssh!".
 

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