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If only the Post could shed its righteous light on every injustice: After yesterday's scoop on the guy whose Mitsubishi was towed after the DOT moved a diplomats-only parking sign, the mayor himself has ordered a full refund! On Thursday morning Shavit Mekeiten parked his car on East 41st Street near the New Zealand Consulate, but later workers dug out the diplomats-only sign and moved it fifteen feet, rendering Mekeiten's spot illegal. Soon an NYPD tow truck hauled the car away, and Mekeiten had to pay the $185 tow fee plus a $95 ticket for not having diplomatic plates. After hearing about the incident yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg responded, "I think it is obvious that it is unfair for him to pay a ticket. So, you can rest assured he will be provided with a full refund and our apologies for the inconvenience." But what about all the unfair towing you don't read about in the tabloids? The City Council is actually considering a bill requiring city workers post signs notifying drivers about parking rule changes, but until then our only hope is the Post's constant vigilance.
Bloomberg Refunds Driver Towed In Parking Sign Switcheroo
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New York City public schools have a "snow day" on Wednesday, February 10, 2010.
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interesting...
Good to hear the Mayor is on top of this important issue that affects all New Yorkers.
lets be fair here, he got involved and did something right. probably took all but 15 seconds to comment and delegate a phone call, likely while at a urinal.
This kind of specious use of his powers, reacting to a tabloid news story, should be cause for concern. Are there other favors he so blithely bestows?
Is there protocol for refunding money in these kind of situations? Because if there isn't he will NEVER see his money. The brainiacs down at the DOT will have no idea how to process it.
jackass.
It is what it is, jackass!
oooooo, looks like some brooklynjackass got censored now didn't he?
justice is sweet, i hope he gets a timely refund. but damn tho, just under $300 for getting towed?! that is friggin' ridiculous.
Did the tow truck driver get arrested shot or disemboweled for his crime? No? No justice served.
Why is it unfair towing? How the the tow truck driver know the sign was changed 10 minutes ago?
of course they knew...they're in on the dirty schemes of NYC...remember it was an NYPD tow truck.
duh
NYPD and NYPD Traffic are two very different agencies.
Signs are installed by DOT. Towing is done by NYPD civilian employees.
they come from the same pile of shit.
It was taken care of because it's an election year.
Big deal. Is it too much to ask the city to reimburse for the lost time and headache and angst of the victim to have this resolved?? I'm sorry would mean very little to me after having my day disrupted by these clowns.
Pfft...you know how much crap he would have had to shovel to get a refund on his own? Regardless of the mayor's intention (election year or not), it is a Win for this guy.
Sad but true.
I guess the only good thing about your remark is that you're not Jewish and I guess we don't have to help you out. Dimwit.
As a someone who was towed because new signs were put up after I parked, it is incredibly frustrating. Not to mention hard to prove my case. I actually had to go down to the Department of Transportation and file a freedom of information request in person in order to get proof that the signs were installed the day my car was towed. In order to get my money refunded, I had to go to traffic court and ask for an extension while I waited for the information from the department of transportation to arrive. Finally, on my second visit to traffic court (and my third day missing time from work to deal with all this), I won the case. City council should definitely pass a law that notifies drivers that new signs are going to be installed. they put up signs when there are movie shoots, street fairs, tree removals, etc. Why can't they notify drivers when permanent signage is going to change? How else could you avoid this?
Because it makes the city money, and in this one instance they were busted for it.
The quotas imposed for the tow truck drivers I'm sure are in place because of Bloomie, so you can't fault the driver for doing his job.
part of his accountability platform right?
Bloomberg didn't publicly apologized to the reporter Azi for calling him a disgrace but apologizes to his guy. wth?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojqf5PyuHcU
Tempest in a teapot. I used to work as a judge at PVB, and we had access to the DOT database which showed when and where all street signs were installed. The driver here is not the first person this happened to, and since the city employees were all performing their jobs correctly, he won't be the last. As for the poster who asked if there are protocols about getting towing charges refunded, yes, these protocols do exist, and if the ticket is dismissed, you're entitled to a refund. Is this a hassle? Sure, but if you want to park your private vehicle on a public street, you can't expect everything to go smoothly.
This is ridiculous. Just because these employees were doing their jobs correctly does not mean it was the right thing to do nor does it mean that the system could benefit from an improved process. This all starts at the top. In my opinion it is a break down in communication between the departments. What is the result? Over crowded court rooms, and individuals missing work to fight this nonsense. It is a lose lose situation for everyone involved. In the end you have overburdened judges and contemptuous citizens. One simple fact is that we have the technology and know-how to correct this from happening in the future.
How, exactly, would you prevent this from happening in the future? The only scenario I can think of is putting up signs saying that a new sign is going to be installed, but I'm not sure the extra work involved would justify itself on the off chance that someone might get towed, nor would it be a sure-fire way of preventing what happened (paper signs are easy to miss, get torn down/rained on, etc.). You can't really expect every traffic agent to know exactly when every sign is going to get installed, nor can you expect every tow truck driver to monitor when new signs get installed.
Michael Bloomberg. Buying the next election one vote at a time.