Last Updated on July 19, 2017 by Lawrence Berezin

The Evil Empire revised the NYC parking ticket penalty timeline

I recently rounded the far turn of my life when I became a senior citizen on November 3, 2013. I can walk into my favorite Duncan Donuts, and get a free donut with my morning coffee.  Life is good.

Feeling a bit nostalgic, I decided to check the scorecard on some of my past predictions…

• Man on the moon? “Whatareya nuts?”
• The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. Passing Fad!
• Gasoline prices above $1 per gallon. No way!
• The Evil Empire giving our driving community a small gift without a gun to its metaphorical temple? C’mon man!

You guys know the outcome of my first three predictions, and now I’m officially 0-4 because the Evil Empire revised the NYC parking ticket timeline.

The time to pay a parking ticket without additional penalties has been voluntarily extended by the NYC Department of Finance

[slideshare id=78051664&doc=parkingtickettimeline-revisedbytheevilempirefinalrev-170719172245]

As we learned in the pages of Larry’s Blog (or elsewhere), the parking ticket penalty Congo line used to be:

• 31st day…$10
• 46th day…$20
• 76th day…$30

The revised time line is:

• 31st day…$10
• 61st day…$20
• 81st day…$30

A small gift…Maybe, but who doesn’t like a free, unexpected, unsolicited gift? Have you ever returned the $20 bill you receive from Uncle Jerry?

What does this mean in real life…Let’s say, Aunt Tilly, who is really too old to drive safely, gets into her chariot, parks illegally in a No Standing zone, and gets an NYC parking ticket. Aunt Tilly was aghast and did not want anyone to find out she got a parking ticket, let alone that she took the family chariot for a spin.

Aunt Tilly hid the ticket in her favorite hiding spot…And like me forgot where.

On the 31st day after the parking ticket was issued, the Evil Empire automatically assessed a $10 penalty. Aunt Tilly still couldn’t find her ticket, didn’t read Larry’s Blog and didn’t know how to find her parking ticket online. 61 days from the date of issuance, the DOF assessed a second penalty of $20 (rather than 46 days after ticket issuance).

Finally, on the 76th day from issuance while Aunt Tilly was searching for a pair of shoes to wear from her collection that rivals Imelda Marcos, lo-and-behold, she found the hidden ticket. Under the old tithing system, Aunt Tilly would have incurred an additional $30 penalty on the 76th day. But, since we have a new, kinder Evil Empire, there is no additional penalty assessed until day 81 (from the date of issuance). Thus, Ms. Tilly doesn’t owe an additional $30 bucks.

Commentary

I urge our driving community to fight or pay a parking ticket within 30 days. But, if you’re kidnapped by Martians, or hide the evil orange epistle in your favorite hiding place, you have more time to fight or pay. Yea!

Thank you, Evil Empire for this small gesture. Ya didn’t have to do it, but I’m glad you did.