NYC Parking Tickets
Ok. I know what you’re thinking. I thought this site was supposed to be about reasons to love New York. How do parking tickets relate? Well, they don’t. Not really. But what better way to get things started than with a money and time saving tip that I’ve picked up since living in this fair city of ours.
I’m going to go out on a limb here, parking tickets are no fun. That being said, if you dare to venture into Manhattan with a car more than once in your life, chances are you’ve received one of these delightful gifts from the government.
Now, I’m not offering a magic bullet to make your ticket disappear, but you should know that not all hope is lost. If you were so inclined, you could request a hearing and spend the better part of your vacation day languishing in the Manhattan Business Center. A few hours later, you’ll be the proud recipient of a settlement offer, saving you up to a cool 35% off the total of your fine. Not really the greatest return on your time investment.
What you may not know is that you can achieve the same effect by filling out a simple form on the nyc.gov website. Enter your contact information, the ticket information and in the Defense text area simply write “Looking for settlement.” You should receive a letter from the Adjudication Division of the Department of Finance in 2-3 weeks with your reduced fine.
I have done this a number of times and always had success, granted these are for simple alternate side of the street parking violations. If you’ve got something more serious (e.g. parking in front of a fire hydrant) I’m not sure how well this method would work. By all means, try it out and let us know how you fare. If you happen to have any tips of your own for beating parking violations, please do leave them in the comments.
Just tried this for a hydrant ticket. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Look for errors on your ticket and online. For a while they were mistaking Maryland for Massachusetts and I got out of several tickets that way. The law states that if there are any mistakes on the ticket at all, the ticket is null. I’ve also gotten out of some tickets because my car was listed as “Grey” when it is actually blue. Hooray evening when colors get confused! Sent in a pic of my car which is clearly blue and the tix were thrown out. Gotta love nyc.
Oh my. Had I only knows about the color thing. They always call mine grey, but it is champaigne!
Color is not a basis for ticket dismissal in New York City. You must have beat it on something else!
Hi,
I realize this is an old post, but still merits a reply. I love your header, it’s beautiful.
You advice is absolutely correct. But, it’s only 1/2 the story. I suggest:
1. Look at the face of your parking ticket. If any of the information is incorrect, you win. The parking ticket will be dismissed.
2. You may have a viable defense to the violation. Seek expert advice. For example, if you receive a parking ticket for double parking and you can prove you were discharging a passenger, you win. Your parking ticket will be dismissed.
3. Your above example is a violation of Code 34, expired meter. There are defenses to this violation. It’s a $65 ticket in Manhattan, below 96th Street. Otherwise, it’s $35. See if you can fight your parking ticket and win.
If you have no valid defense, it’s a great idea to take advantage of the parking penalty reduction program. For example, you will receive an automatic $25 reduction in exchange for a guilty plea to double parking.
Thanks for the opportunity to share some thoughts.
After reading the article, I feel that I really need more info. Could you share some more resources ?
I have a question regarding your recomendation about traffic tickets, I would like to know what form is the one that I have to fill, I was trying to follow your “simple form” link from your article, but it took me to a list of city agencies, and did not show me any form. Please let me ko
Thanks
Andres
I could not access the form shown above after clicking on the link several times. Instead, I was taken to a page that listed different city agencies.
Please put in a correct link.
~Marina
I have a question about the license plates for a scooter. I parked my covered scooter on the sidewalk and was ticketed for no plates since i am working on it, as it does not run yet. Also, a ticket for parking on a sidewalk. Most scooters have to be on the sidewalk since the chain lock needs to be around a pole, lamppost etc… The officer wrote “Piaggio” on ticket as the make, but it is a Vespa. He did not write any other info about the scooter. Any suggestions?
thanks!
Great article, 35% off parking tickets is huge. But if you want to contest the ticket and get a full refund, there has to be a better way. I don’t know any silver bullets, but this is a parking ticket judge’s blog: http://parkingticketpunditry.wordpress.com/
Reading that definitely helped me learn a parking ticket judge’s way of thinking when deciding parking ticket cases. Apparently he (or she?) also answers questions about parking tickets free of charge.
hey, that link for settlement doesnt work, can anyone help me find that link on NYC.gov, i feel like its hidden
Is a traffic ticket(failure to stop at stop sign) AND I DID STOP AT IT!…null (in MARYLAND) if the officer wrote on the ticket you were traveling EB on Green St. when you were actually WB on Green St? He even intially testified in court yesterday that I was traveling EB, but when the Judge noticed that the directions weren’t adding up the officer apologized and stated that I was actually traveling WB. Ticket STILL SAID EAST BOUND! Can I have the guilty verdict I got oveerturned or thrown out completely?
An iPhone app specifically designed for NYC parking tickets: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/parking-ticket-pundit-nyc/id355269974?mt=8