City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Oz Pk) says he will support key legislation introduced by council colleague David Greenfield of Brooklyn and announced by Council Speaker Christine Quinn that seeks to curb the “ill-effects” of muni-meters on parkers throughout the city.
According to points in the legislation, the meters will shut off automatically and not accept payment at times when drivers are not required to pay for parking at a location. In addition, the machine will not accept payment when it is out of receipt paper and will allow drivers to pay for parking beginning one hour before the regulations go into effect.
Legislators hope that the bill will ensure that motorists are not subjected to unfair penalties and fines not made to pay for equipment flaw or error.
Ulrich says for many people today risking a $35 ticket through no fault of their own may prevent shoppers from a trip to a neighborhood business. “My district has it fair share of muni-meters on busy strips. Crossbay Boulevard,Liberty, Atlantic Avenues,” Ulrich said, “and more than those. We have a lot of parking turnover at these locations and people should be able to come and park and shop and do their business without worrying about getting unfair tickets.”
Residents using strips like Cross Bay Boulevard have similar concerns.
John Brennan says he parks on the busy strip just about six days week. Since muni-meters came to town, Brennan says, he’s unable to get a receipt at the first machine he tries a lot of times. “They run out of the damn paper all the time, but they keep your money. “And you have to walk all the way to the next machine,” he jokes, “but at 89, you don’t get much else exercise. I just don’t want tickets.”
And tickets he’s gotten he says, two since January. One he admits was his fault, the other he said his daughter made him pay against his will. “Daddy she tells me, it’ll cost more in time to prove you’re right. I’ll pay it for you.” John Brennan looks back and flashes a smile, “You can’t fight City Hall—if you don’t try.”
By Patricia Adams
