Results tagged “ticketblitz”

Round Two of the NYPD's smackdown on drivers using cell phones for phone calls, texting and emails fell short of the over 9,000 tickets that went out during March's one-day sting. But the city almost certainly cracked the seven-figure mark once again during Thursday's 24-hour ticket blitz, issuing 7,432 tickets at $130 a piece ($200 for cab drivers). Could a 15% drop mean that New Yorker drivers have begun to curb their cellphone usage? Or are they just paying closer attention when the NYPD publicly alerts them to the fact that thirteen times as many tickets will be given out that day? A Daily News writer gives a account of getting nailed for using her Blackberry while driving by Ground Zero on Thursday, taking us through the play-by-play of what getting a ticket is like: "I handed over my license and registration, sat patiently for a few minutes, then took my lumps without saying a word."

Since the city's tax revenue has plummeted, with the stock market and the fortunes of Wall Street, the Staten Island Advance notices, "The city plans to collect a record $900 million in fines during the upcoming fiscal year, which begins next week, according to budget estimates," thanks to fines like "A $25 fine from Sanitation for failing to comply with the city's recycling regulations. A $250 summons from Parks for not stopping to 'scoop the poop' from your pet. A $200 fine from Consumer Affairs for leaving your shop store open while the air conditioning is running, and a $250 ticket from a traffic agent for leaving your engine running while you run into that store." Restaurant violations are up from $27 million last year to $38 million this coming budget year, but the big money maker is parking fines, which may rack up $600 million this year. Sari Kingsley, a recent victim of the ticket blitz, said she got her ticket minutes after parking outside her office, with the traffic agent claiming it had been there for over two hours; Kingsley said, "It's beyond just enforcement. It's harassment."

After a day-long ticket blitz, the NYPD issued 9,016 tickets to drivers using their cellphones—all this in spite of the cops essentially warning people earlier this week that they'd be out in force.