A couple of questions: parking on sidewalk

[doctorbonez]

What is the name of your state? New York (City)

Unfortunately, I came back to my car tonight to find a parking ticket with code 51 (parking on sidewalk).

To be fair, I WAS on the sidewalk by a few inches (maybe 2?).. that I realized after I deciphered what was written on the ticket. To my defense, my car is a stick shift and there is a slope to the road, thus out of habit (and safety, incase the parking brake fails or something) I turn the steering wheel to lock the wheels against the sidewalk.. but the sidewalk is in poor condition, and is flush with the road (ie: there is no curb) (there is the metal edge that usually marks the edge of the curb,, but the edge is sunken into the pavement so it doesnt really offer anything more than a landmark of where the sidewalk begins).

I gather that either the car rolled on its own (due to the grade of the road, and my car tends to 'settle' after i put the brake on) or perhaps someone backed into my car while parking and gave it enough of a shove for it to roll onto the sidewalk (I can't be sure of which it was since I left the car for 10+ hours)... I've got a pic of the sidewalk with my wheel onthe sidewalk, as well as a pic of the sidewalk without the car on it. (although the pic is pretty dark since I took it at night, but with the flash it is enough to see where the wheel lie relative to the sidewalk).

Is this a meritous claim?

Also.. the color of the car is wrong on the ticket.. but my understanding is that that isnt enough to get a ticket dismissed in NYC (ticket says green, but car is black)

Thanks for your help and insights.

 

[The Occultist]

I do recommend bringing the photo with you and explaining your case to the judge, just as long as you acknowledge that taking my advice will constitute pleading "guilty with an explanation". That would essentially mean the court does not have to care in the least about the situation, but it may mean some form of leniency.

There are several threads explaining fighting parking cites, as well have several members who can either support or debunk what I'm about to say, but I'm fairly certain simply showing up to the courthouse will get you a 20% reduction of the fine or something like that. You should look into that; either search the threads dealing with NY parking cites (lord knows there are plenty of those on this board), or wait and hope somebody more knowledgeable will confirm it for us (one of those aforementioned knowledgeable ones actually dislikes repeating old topics, so I do advise searching the board )

 

[doctorbonez]

Thanks for your reply. I did a search, but I wasn't able to find much specifically on 'parking on sidewalks'.. I guess I was just curious if my claim has any merits to it from a legal standpoint. ie: I parked the way I did out of safety (ie: turning steering wheel to lock wheels against the curb), and if the curb wasn't damaged, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

I'm normally anally retentive about my parking habits having gotten a couple of NYC tickets in the past, and I thought I was in this case, but who knew that my careful parking job could result in a ticket??

I guess I'll submit my defense and see what the adjudicator says. I welcome any other input you guys might have.

Thanks

 

[You Are Guilty]

Try a search of "NYC parking tickets" or "new york city parking tickets".

Parking is a strict liability offense - how or why it happened is irrelevant. You can park 100% legally, and 5 minutes after you leave, a forklift picks your car up and moves it onto the sidewalk. You're still guilty, in the eyes of the law.

Plead not guilty though, with your pics and explanation. You may get lucky and get a sympathetic ALJ (which almost never happens by mail), but don't bet the house on it. If you feel lucky, throw in the term "de minimis" (that can easily backfire, so be careful).

 

[doctorbonez]

Thanks, I guess I can just submit and hope for the best.

Is the consensus that there are much better odds if I go in person to talk the adjudicators? Out of curiosity, why would there be better odds in person? Does it show that you are more sincere about resolving the situation or something?

btw. I'm only asking because I'm in training/school on long island and its difficult for me to get off of training and hoof it out to Queens (or wherever the nearest office is) on a weekday.

also, how would one use 'de minimis' in an argument? to me, it obviously seems very trivial, i don't want to come off as being arrogant enough to tell the judge what is trivial and what isn't.

Thanks

 

[You Are Guilty]

Is the consensus that there are much better odds if I go in person to talk the adjudicators? Out of curiosity, why would there be better odds in person? Does it show that you are more sincere about resolving the situation or something?

No one knows for sure. I did post an article within the last few months that noted there was a striking difference in success rates for tickets contested via mail versus those contested in person. From my personal, anecdotal experience, in person always worked better as well.

btw. I'm only asking because I'm in training/school on long island and its difficult for me to get off of training and hoof it out to Queens (or wherever the nearest office is) on a weekday.

How much is the ticket? Figure you can get 20% knocked off as in incentive to plead guilty. Then figure out how long it'll take you to get to the PVB office in Jamaica, spend 30 minutes there, and get back. Calculate how much you'd earn during that time/what that time is worth to you. If time>ticket, then just pay. If ticket>time, then plead

also, how would one use 'de minimis' in an argument? to me, it obviously seems very trivial, i don't want to come off as being arrogant enough to tell the judge what is trivial and what isn't.

Half the ALJ's probably never even heard the term, which is why using it can backfire. You're probably better off just saying "this is not a case where I had all 4 tires on the sidewalk - or even 1 tire. I had an inch of one tread barely over the curb line - its very unfair to treat me the same as people who deliberately park on the sidewalk".

Then start crying uncontrollably. If that doesn't work, fill your pants with shaving cream and start screaming about the voices in your head. Maybe they'll feel bad enough about your other problems and let you out of the ticket.