Gothamist: Vendors Feel the Heat

ryan

Sun, 28 Aug 2005 14:11:50 -0500

But when the rules you're enforcing are almost pointless in the first place (who wants a receipt for a bag of nuts?), a hefty fine just hurts the poor vendors in vain. And who enforces these? I think there are slightly larger problems that police could be dealing with at the moment, like poorly chosen outfits for example. Am I right?

sean

Sun, 28 Aug 2005 14:08:51 -0500

Its not so simple, Craig. The vending rules are very complicated and the police often give tickets simply to meet their quotas. But the argument is not that there shouldn't be fines -- its that the fines are too severe. For example, have you ever gotten a speeding or parking ticket? Even if you were guilty, I suspect you would believe that a $1,000 fine was not proportional to the offense. Same thing here.

craig

Sun, 28 Aug 2005 13:05:25 -0500

Simply put....if you follow the rules, you do not get fined.