 |
(Photo: Marcellus Hall) |
Q: A cranky parking officer gave me a ticket I don’t deserve! How do I lose this orange envelope without giving up any green?
A: You’ve got a good shot when you take on the Parking Violations Operations bureau, says spokesman Rob Roman: Of 1.5 million tickets contested last year, 900,000 were dismissed or reduced. To fight the system, search the ticket, the street, and your soul to figure out whether you’re just whining or you have real grounds for dismissal (a broken meter, a ticket with wrong information, a missing sign). Then photograph the meter or the signpost, making sure to capture the whole block and the street sign; get a witness’s statement if you can. Write a passionate-yet-detailed letter of explanation. Then mail it all in with the ticket (marked not guilty). Keep copies of everything. If you have digital photos, you can also appeal online, at nyc.gov/finance. The PVO may take months, and you may get late-payment notices. Ignore them. You don’t owe the city a dime unless they reject your plea, in which case you have seven days to pay—and plot your appeal.
Email
Print
Eight Year-End Films Vie for Oscar Contention
Sondheim and Lansbury on a Lifetime in Theater
The Black Keys Release Their Hip-hop Debut 
How the BQE Became an Artistic Muse
On Great Jones Street, Shopping Is Art 
Classic Fare, Old-world Charm at Le Caprice
Buy a Brownstone for Less Than $1 Million
Fifty of the City's Tastiest Soups
Reasons to Love New York 2009
New York Politicians Refuse to Quit
A-Rod Has Babe Ruth in His Sights
McCain Yields to the Party's Pressure
