New bill seeks to make parking fairer
Five months ago, Assemblymember William Colton sent a letter tothe Department of Transportation (DOT), demanding that it updateits website and publicly affirm that drivers can use the sameMuni-Meter receipt with any leftover minutes to park in multiplelocations. The DOT and 3-1-1 operators now confirm this allowance,he says, but ticket agents and administrative judges do not.
The problem is that even though now 3-1-1 says it’s legal, and[if you ask,] the DOT gives you a letter saying it’s okay, ticketagents are not following it, Colton said during a January 27 pressconference outside a Dunkin Donuts at 86th Street and KingsHighway. Even if you bring in the DOT letter, judges with theDepartment of Finance (DOF) will rule against you. Then if you tellthe DOT, they will say that each case is individual and each judgecan interpret it individually.
That is why Colton, who represents the 47th Assembly District ofBensonhurst and Gravesend, has introduced a bill in the Assemblythat would codify the parking receipt provisions into New YorkCity’s administrative code. Only written law would put an end tothe disconnect between agencies, he said.