The 5-Minute Grace Period Bill is now NYC parking law

The 5-minute grace period bill is the winner and new champion of Parking Ticket Land

The 5-minute grace period bill soundly defeated Mayor Bloomberg.  The City Council voted overwhelmingly in favor of overriding the Mayor’s veto and enacted the 5- minute grace period bill into NYC parking law

The Bill will take effect on March 21, 2010.

The parking rules covered by the 5-minute grace period bill

The Bill will apply to:

• Alternate side
• Muni-meters.
• Rule changes

This means if an alternate side parking rule commenced at 8:00 a.m., a parking ticket warrior cannot issue a ticket until 8:06 am.

[alert type=”info” icon-size=”hide-icon”]Some more for examples:[/alert]

-If a muni-meter ticket was issued at 9:06 am, a driver needs a muni-meter receipt with a start time of 5-minutes earlier.

-A driver has 5-minutes to move his car after the time on his muni-meter receipt expired.

-If ASP rules start at 9 am, a driver has 5-minutes to move his car before a Warrior can issue a ticket

-If a no standing parking rule ends at 9 am, a driver has 5 minutes after the time of the rule change to move her car

Here is Simcha Felder, a champion of the rights of the NYC driving public talking about the Bill he sponsored.

Take a moment and listen how eloquently Councilman Felder explains the rationale behind the 5 Minute Grace Period Bill. You’ll be glad you did.

Commentary

My first reaction to the 5 Minute Grace Period Bill was lukewarm when it was passed by the City Council on Monday, November 15, 2009. I figured the angry conversation will now be about receiving a parking ticket at 8:06 a.m.

As time passed, the Bill was vetoed by Mayor Bloomberg; and then the Mayor’s veto was overridden by the City Council on December 21, 2009. It gave me some time to reflect on the importance of this legislation.

I changed my mind. Here’s why:

There is such open combustible hostility between parking ticket warriors and the NYC driving public, the mutual disrespect and incivility are palpable. It makes the Republicans vs. Obama the undercard. The 5 Minute Grace Period Bill is viewed by the driving public as a victory. A victory feels good. A victory makes the driving public feel like someone with the power to act is listening.

The beauty of this small step is it empowers the driving public to reclaim a measure of control over the chaotic parking rules that run their lives. If you own a car in NYC, the consequences of not coming home in time to move it, are worse than leaving a puppy in the house too long.

Rules are important. Warrior’s will hopefully use common sense and respect to enforce them. Let’s return the respect to the warriors that are doing their job, whether you like that job or not.  To me, this is the start of a long overdue conversation between stakeholders about how to manage the mean streets of NYC.

I’d love to hear your opinion about the 5 Minute Grace Period Bill. It matters to us