NYC Parking Ticket Land Penalized Good Samaritan

Last Updated on January 6, 2020 by Lawrence Berezin

A Parking Ticket Warrior didn’t let a kind deed go unpunished

Did a good samaritan from Chaveirim deserve a parking ticket while helping a guy in a white van fix a flat tire? What is Chaveirim?

The Group’s mission is:

“We at Chaveirim ‘friends you can count on’, pride ourselves with our record of distinguished services to our community.  It is with great enthusiasm that we introduce you to our organization, which emerged from its modest start close to 13 years ago to the organization that we are today. 

Founded immediately after the tragedy of September 11, 2001, Chaveirim was launched by a group of concerned individuals eager to provide non-emergency, volunteer aid that would be within the capacity of a grassroots organization. Working to assist motorists stranded due to minor hurdles, such as car lockouts, flat tires or running out of gas, as well as helping the elderly & handicapped in our community with their daily needs, the Chaveirim hotline has been handling hundreds of calls daily, with an astonishing 250,000 calls logged to this date. 

Chaveirim encompasses a network of close to 300 volunteers, equipped with an advanced dispatch and communication system, and is constantly expanding to new communities.  We operate in the areas of North and South Brooklyn, New York City, and the Catskills during the summer weeks.  New recruits are screened and background checked to ensure their competency.  This is followed by an extensive training course, which includes live presentations, to lay emphasis on efficiency and professionalism.  Equipment is then distributed to the volunteers to gear them up for the task. “

Was a parking ticket justified?

A guy with an old, white, van suffered a flat tire at the intersection of Wallabout Street and Lee Avenue. He needed help changing the tire so he called Chaveirim. One of the volunteers from Chaveirim rushed to the location and parked his car right behind the white, “disabled” van with a flat tire. Unfortunately, the good Samaritan was in a no standing zone while changing the tire.

Guess what happened next? A Parking Ticket Warrior walked in front of the volunteer’s car, scanned the registration, and issued a no standing ticket.

Councilman Chaim Deutsch reacts

“We expect more from government,” City Councilman Chaim Deutsch declared to CBS2’s Jessica Layton.

“When I try to reach out to the traffic department it’s like pulling teeth.”

Councilman Deutsch told CBS2 he’s disgusted and has offered to write a letter in support of the volunteer-based on his defense when he goes to fight the ticket.

“That traffic agent should have made a good gesture by offering help,” the councilman added. “Or at least say ‘oh I see what’s going on.’”

So far the NYPD will only say the matter is under review – reviewing a kind gesture punished instead of appreciated.

Here’s the full CBS New York Report (including a video)

Commentary

You can’t make this stuff up.

I believe the driver of the “disabled,” white van and the volunteer from Chaveirim were legally justified in the action they took to comply with 4-08 (8). And, the volunteer had a winning defense to the stupid no standing ticket because:

• The white van suffered a flat tire in a no standing zone
• The “disabled,” white van was required by Rule 4-08 (8) to be pushed to the side of the road so that it obstructed traffic as little as possible, and removed expeditiously.
• This can be accomplished by calling a tow truck to tow his white van (costing him a bunch of bucks )
• Or, by calling Chaveirim to help repair his flat tire so he could drive his van away (costing him zero bucks)

The driver of the white van chose to call Chaveirim. I can’t imagine a Warrior would have issued a no standing ticket to a tow truck operator while he was hooking the white van to the tow truck in compliance with the disabled vehicle rule (do you?)

Why wasn’t the same good judgment applied to the volunteer who was helping the driver comply with the disabled vehicle rule, R. 4-08(8) by fixing the flat tire? Especially since the disabled vehicle rule did not specify how a disabled vehicle was supposed to be removed expeditiously. The driver of the white van complied with the rule by expeditiously fixing the flat tire

(8) Disabled vehicles. A vehicle that becomes disabled must be pushed to the side of the road so that it obstructs traffic as little as possible, and must be removed expeditiously.

That’s the legal justification, but issuing a no standing ticket under these circumstances is thoughtless. C’mon man. How about a little common sense?