Would you Issue a NYC Parking Ticket to Mother Theresa?

Last Updated on January 6, 2018 by Lawrence Berezin

The parking ticket story

Spoiler Alert: Mother Theresa gets a parking ticket. Mother Theresa was operating her silver Subaru in the Rockaway Beach section of Queens. Riding shotgun was Mahatma Gandhi. The Reverend Billy Graham was in the back seat. Mother Theresa stopped her car temporarily on Shore Front Parkway to drop-off Gandhi and Graham, who were on their way to the beach. She waited patiently for the two gentlemen to safely cross the street (This entire process took less than 2 minutes).

Much to the chagrin of Mother Theresa, a parking ticket warrior jumped out of her vehicle, and issued a parking ticket for “No standing, anytime.” Mother Theresa tried to explain to the warrior that she stopped temporarily to drop-off Mr. Gandhi and Rev. Graham. The warrior replied, “Yea, and I suppose you’re Mother Theresa. Tell it to the judge.”

Mother Theresa fought her NYC parking ticket by mail, and submitted her affidavit, with the affidavits of Mr. Gandhi and Reverend Graham. The parking ticket judge found Mother Theresa guilty of violating the “No standing” parking rule; and found  her witnesses affidavits to be “unpersuasive.”

Was Mother Theresa guilty of a parking violation? If so, for:

1. No stopping violation
2. Bus stop violation
3. No standing violation
4. Safety zone violation
5. No stopping, standing, or parking in a traffic lane

Picture of the parking ticket crime scene

Picture: Shown is Mother Theresa’s silver Subaru. In the distance on the same side of the street as the shelter, is a red “No stopping, anytime” parking sign with the arrow pointing towards Mother Theresa’s car.

On the opposite side of the street (not shown) is a red “No standing, anytime” parking sign with the arrow pointing in the direction of Mother Theresa’s car. There is no parking sign anywhere on either side of the block prohibiting parking in bus stop zone.

Kindly post your answers as a comment. I can’t wait to read your responses and reasons. Please share your opinions and I’ll share mine.

[alert type=”info” icon-size=”normal”]Larry’s humble opinion[/alert]

Is it #1? No. Although the red “No stopping” sign’s arrow points toward the silver Subaru, I do not believe the sign regulates cars parked alongside the very narrow grassy knoll. The big but is, I’m not sure this is how all parking ticket judges will interpret the area regulated by a parking sign. Therefore, I recommend not parking in this type of location because of the risk of being issued an NYC parking ticket

Is it #2? No. Although there is a bus stop shelter, there is no bus stop sign! The big but is you still may be issued a parking ticket by a quota driven warrior; and found guilty by some parking ticket judges. Fight this parking ticket by submitting overlapping photographs of the block showing there is no bus stop sign; and present proof it is no longer an active bus stop.

Is it #3? No. Parking sign (not shown) on the opposite side of the street does not regulate the space where the Subaru parked.

Is it #4? No. There weren’t any diagonal lines or other safety zone markings where Subaru parked. The safety zone is on the other side of the very narrow grassy knoll

Is it #5? YES. You’ll notice in the picture there are two lanes of travel on the roadway in the direction of the Subaru. The left lane where the Subaru parked is a Travel Lane. The rule prohibiting parking in a travel lane also prohibits parking eight feet or more from a curb (Violation Code 45). Guilty as charged!

What’s your opinion? Do you agree with me?