a simple guide to beating nyc parking tickets
TRANSCRIPT
A Simple,
Essential
Guide
to Beating NYC Parking
Tickets
made with
Here's an easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide
to beating NYC parking tickets
I've beaten NYC parking tickets for seven years. I've learned about the
nuances and land mines lurking in the path of defeating the Evil Empire.
For example:
-Your defense statement should be certified. A warrior swears to the truth
and accuracy of the information she entered on a parking ticket and ergo,
her testimony will be entitled to greater weight than your non-sworn or
non-certified statement
-Exhibits should be certified to lend credibility to your evidence
-Take advantage of the excellent resources online to win a dismissal, such
as:
The NYC Parking Regulations Map (image version),
The NYC Parking Regulations Map (text version),
The NYC Property Map (click on advanced search),
The Digital Tax Map, Google Maps, and a lot more...
I'd like to share my path to success with you.
Park safely,
Larry
Introduction
A Simple, Essential Guide
to Beating NYC Parking
Tickets
NYC parking ticket required elements
My jaws are sore preaching the gospel of required elements and how
important they are to beat a parking ticket. A required element is a bite-size
bit of information that a warrior or cop is required to enter on you parking
ticket (to prove a prima facie case against you).
What is a prima facie case? In Parking Ticket Land, your opponent is the
parking ticket, not the warrior or cop because these enemy agents are not
required to attend your hearing.
For example, if you are charged with violating a no parking rule, a ticket
must correctly identify your chariot (Plate number, Expiration Date of your
registration, State of registration, Plate Type, Make, and Body Type), and
correctly display:
-The location of the parking violation (place of occurrence)
-The NYC traffic rule you allegedly violated
-The days and hours the parking rule was in effect
-The date and time of violation
The nasty no parking ticket with all the required elements on display will be
sitting before the judge. And, now it's your turn to present evidence that
one or more of the required elements were omitted, misdescribed or
illegible. If you succeed, the parking ticket failed to establish a prima facie
case and will be dismissed.
Is there a substantive defense to the parking
violation?
What if all the required elements of the no parking violation were entered
correctly on the piece of paper? Yikes! Your next step is to prove a
substantive defense to the no parking violation. For example, you are
permitted to stop temporarily to expeditiously drop off or pick up a
passenger and their property at the curb, and leave the area immediately.
You can prove this substantive defense with the help of:
-A witness statement from the passenger containing answers to the five-
questions
-The who, what, where, when, and why?
Here is a witness statement I used to support a defense of lack of service of
parking summons (proof that my client was sitting behind the wheel when
the ticket was issued requiring a warrior or cop to enter his name on the
ticket__the warrior didn't)
-Documentary proof whenever possible, such as:
-Receipts from stores, a note from the doctor, a note from the school nurse,
etc.
A case study
Our heroine, Gladys, was charged with standing her chariot in a bus stop
zone in front of 745 Fulton Street in Brooklyn. The defense we argued was
that Gladys did not park her car in the bus stop zone. In other words, the
place of occurrence was misdescribed.
1.My first step was to check the front of the parking ticket for any omitted,
misdescribed or illegible required elements. I checked with Gladys about
the required elements related to her car (Plate number, Expiration Date of
your registration, State of registration, Plate Type, Make, and Body Type),
but sadly, all six required elements were described correctly.
2.My next step was to search for evidence that Gladys did not park in the
bus stop zone. Here is how I did my research:
I read the applicable law or rule. In this case, a bus stop zone begins at
the bus stop sign and extends, in the direction of the arrow(s) on the
sign, to the next parking sign or if none, the end of the block
I checked the DOT Parking Regulations Map (image version) to determine
what parking signs (rules) regulated the place of occurrence. My
challenge was that the warrior claimed there was construction in the bus
stop area, so I couldn't rely on the results of my DOT search because the
Map may not display any or all the temporary construction parking
signs
I checked Google Maps for the place of occurrence, in front of 745 Fulton
Street, to see for myself what the area looked like (Where was the bus
stop sign? Were the street numbers on the buildings and clearly visible?
Where was #745 to the bus stop? And, most importantly, was there a
second parking sign after the bus stop sign? If so, where was it located
on Fulton Street_before or after #745?
Remember, you cannot offer Google Map images as proof of the current
status of the place of occurrence because the photographs were taken by
the GOOGLE CAMERA CAR before the date the parking ticket was issued.
However, Google Maps gave me hope because the next parking sign after
the bus stop sign was located WELL-BEFORE the place of occurrence.
Remember, a bus stop ends at the next sign after the bus stop sign
I asked Gladys to take some overlapping photographs of the block, starting
at the corner with the bus stop sign and on to the place of occurrence,
including all parking signs with property street numbers in the background
when possible
The results of my research and Gladys' wonderful photography was that we
struck parking ticket gold. The photographs showed that the second
parking sign (the first sign after the bus stop sign) on the block was located
well-before the place of occurrence.
Our next challenge was...
Presenting the proper proof properly
I used a combination of Google Map screen grabs and Gladys' photographs
to create exhibits to prove that place of occurrence was not in the bus stop
zone. Here are my exhibits:
How I prepared the exhibits
Your exhibits should tell a story that captures the judge's attention and
explains your defense. Everyone loves a good story, even judges.
In Gladys' case, the story takes the judge on a tour of Fulton Street from the
bus stop sign on to the place of occurrence to prove that the place of
occurrence was not in the bus stop zone
Exhibit 1: Reveals the parking ticket and immediately tells the judge our
defense. Make it as easy as possible for the judge to understand your
defense and dismiss the parking ticket. Show her the evidence that is
essential to beating the parking ticket. Please don't count on the judge
"looking up" any information you refer to.
Exhibit 2: This image is a screen grab from Google Maps showing the city
block in Brooklyn where the place of occurrence lived. Google Maps has a
tiny bus stop icon to show the location of a bus stop sign. I created a second
sign to show the location of the second sign (that ended the bus stop zone)
and its relation to $745 Fulton Street. I was alerting the judge that I was
going to present evidence to support the location of my little sign #2
Exhibit 3: This image is a screen grab of the Google Map Satellite view of
the city block containing the place of occurrence. I included it because I
wanted to emphasize the location of the bus stop sign and parking sign #2
to the other properties on the block. Now the judge not only knows the
street numbers, but he knows and has become more familiar with the
businesses and their locations on the block
Exhibit 4: This is a Google image of the bus stop sign's exact location near
the corner of Fulton Street. It is not definitive proof that the bus stop was
there on the date and time the parking ticket was issued, but it is consistent
with the information on Exhibit 2 and Exhibit 3 and allows the judge to see
the bus stop sign and the buildings in the background
Exhibit 5: This is a photograph that Gladys' took shortly after the bus stop
ticket was issued (along with the next series of photographs). It is proof of
exact location of the bus stop sign on the date and time this ticket was
issued
Exhibit 6: This is a photograph that shows the property next to Fresh Foods
as we continue our journey on Fulton Street. Notice it includes the
construction cones that corroborate the warrior's comment of temporary
construction in the area
Exhibit 7: This is the winning photograph because it shows the exact
location of the second parking sign (that marks the end of the bus stop
zone) in front of "Black Forest Brooklyn," that was way before #745 Fulton
Street
Exhibit 8: This is a screen grab from Google Maps. It shows a larger view of
the location of sign #2 and shows that the Google image taken in 2016 looks
the same today (absent the construction)
Exhibit 9: This photograph shows the location of sign#3 in front of Bati
(Bati is next to the place of occurrence)
I prepared Gladys' defense certification after
preparing the exhibits
I always prepare my exhibits first because the exhibits help me to organize
the story. I always include captions on the exhibits because studies have
proven that photographs and text are more persuasive and make a greater
impact than pictures alone.
Dear Honorable Judge,
I hereby certify as follows:
I plead not guilty to this bus stop violation because:
-The place of occurrence was misdescribed
-I did not park in a bus stop zone
The place of occurrence entered on the parking ticket was 745 Fulton Street
in Brooklyn. The bus stop zone started at the bus stop sign on Fulton Street
next to Fresh Garden (729 Fulton Street) near the corner of S. Elliott Place
and extended until the next parking sign in front of Black Forest at 733
Fulton Street. and extended until the next parking sign in front of Black
Forest at 733 Fulton Street.
The place of occurrence was not in a bus stop zone.
Attached are a series of exhibits submitted in support of my defense.
Due to these circumstances, please dismiss this parking ticket.
Thank you.
I hereby certify that my testimony is the truth to the best of my knowledge.
I fully understand that if my testimony is willfully false, I am subject to
punishment
I certify that the photographs and images contained in my exhibits are a
true and accurate reproduction of what they purport to represent
the date/time this parking ticket was issued.
Respectfully submitted,
Gladys Jones
Commentary
Please, don't argue your defense by criticizing the system, demeaning a
warrior, or ranting against injustice. Present a series of facts supported by
evidence that leads the judge to one, and only one, conclusion_Not Guilty.
Arguing it wasn't fair that there was only one parking sign located on the
other end of the block, may be cathartic, but will not result in a dismissal.
Instead, make sure the evil sign displayed the same rule entered on your
parking ticket. For example, if you were charged with a no standing
violation, all days all times and the rule on the sign was no standing, Mon-
Fri, 7A to 4P, you win subject to presenting the proper proof, properly. Or if
the arrow on the sign was pointing away from your chariot, you win.
Always check the comments because you may stumble upon some helpful
information. For example, if the warrior enters the word, "sitter" he means
there was a driver sitting behind the wheel. In that case, I would raise the
defense of lack of proper service if the warrior didn't enter the name of the
driver on the ticket
If you get a fire hydrant ticket, please do not leave the place of occurrence
without taking a bunch of photographs showing the exact location of your
chariot to some landmarks on the roadway, sidewalk or building in the
background, and photographs of your chariot to the fire hydrant. How
many sidewalk squares were between your car and the fire hydrant? Ergo,
you can return with your trusty tape measure (if you don't carry one in
your glove compartment) and measure the distances from the landmarks.
Park safely.
Larry
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