Making a Costly Mistake Fighting an NYC Parking Ticket?

Last Updated on September 26, 2021 by Lawrence Berezin

An NYC parking violation was issued for parking in a non-existent bicycle lane

A wonderful, but naïve, member of the driving public was issued an NYC parking summons for parking in a non-existent bike lane. Yup, a bike lane did not exist at the place of occurrence entered on the parking ticket. Easy win, right? Wrong.

Meanwhile, the NY Post reported that Phyllis Cannon fought her non-existent bike lane parking ticket and lost her original hearing and appeal.

How could this happen?

Similarly, according to Ms. Cannon:

“The city has really gotten ridiculous. It’s like they hide in the doorways of stores and give you a ticket as soon as you walk away,”

City Councilman James Vacca — whose district includes the nonexistent bike lane — thinks she deserves a refund.

“This really tops all. It shows you we have overzealous traffic agents or traffic agents who don’t know what they’re seeing.”

[Source: NY Post, “Bronx Woman Hit with Parking Ticket for Parking in Bike Lane that Doesn’t Exist”].

To beat an NYC parking violation you must present the proper proof properly

In other words, the reason Phyllis Cannon lost her battle with the Evil Empire was that she did not present the proper proof to beat her NYC parking ticket.

“Cannon initially challenged the ticket online but was denied because she didn’t include any documentation. ‘I didn’t think I had to because there’s no bike lane on Hone Avenue,’ she reasoned.”

Here’s how to beat the NYC parking ticket for the non-existent bike lane parking ticket:

• Prepare a defense certification that briefly and concisely explains your defense. Start your certification by saying, “I plead not guilty to this parking violation because of a misdescribed required element. There wasn’t a  bicycle lane in front of the place of occurrence entered on the parking ticket”…
• Present “live” photographs, along with Google Maps Street View images, and a copy of the city’s cycling map showing that the place of occurrence on Hone Avenue had no bike lanes
• Fight your parking ticket online
• Copy and paste your defense certification in the space provided on the Evil Empire’s website
• Upload your exhibits
• Wait 10-14 days for a dismissal of this parking ticket (sent to your email address). Yea!

Commentary

A common mistake made by the driving public when they fight an NYC parking summons is substituting their own rules for the Evil Empire’s rules for fighting a parking ticket:

• Your adversary is a piece of paper (the parking ticket)
• The piece of paper testifies first
• It must establish the required elements of the parking violation you were charged with (required elements)
• One such required element is the “place of occurrence.” If the parking rule does not exist or regulate the place of occurrence, you win.
• It is your burden to prove that the parking rule (or bicycle lane) didn’t exist at the place of occurrence
• Never, ever, assume a judge is going to do the heavy lifting for you and look up the place of occurrence on a City Map (to verify your defense that a bike lane did not exist)
• You must prove your defense, properly

In this case, the parking ticket warrior was the culprit. She knew that a bicycle lane did not exist at the place of occurrence, yet issued a bogus parking ticket anyway. Sadly, our nice Bronx lady didn’t know the rules of engagement and lost her original hearing and appeal.

In most cases, I find that parking ticket warriors make honest mistakes. They don’t issue tickets they know are bogus. However, there are rogue warriors that play scandalous games with your money and rely upon people like Phyllis Cannon to fight their tickets without knowing how to win.

Justice was not served.

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