Larry's Blog

I was driving down Lex when I went through an intersection (while the light was green), all of a sudden the cars in front of me stopped it was because a cop was pulling people over and when the person was done they would try to get back in the main lane causing people to stop short. Half of the car was in the crosswalk. The light turned yellow and people started to walk. Then a cop 4 building ins pulled me over (in the bus lane) and said I was blocking an intersection. There was no box painted, the congestion was her fault and how could she have seen me. I asked what should I have done and she said back up through the whole intersection.  
 
I got a $115 ticket. Do you think I have a case?

Kate, 
 
I hear you. We are getting a rash of comments, questions and complaints about congestion in the box caused by parking ticket warriors stopping cars in the "box" to issue summons. 
 
It's like the agents create the problem, and issue tickets to the driving public who are trapped in the box because of their unthinking behavior. 
 
I will publish a blog post this week offering my advice about how to fight this man/woman-made disaster. The challenge revolves around how to prove your defense. My suggestion is going to be when you are trapped in the box because of a warrior's bad behavior, take photos with your cell phone or a camera to document this activity. 
 
Then, you will have photographic evidence to support your dispute. Without corroboration, I don't believe the hearing official will be persuaded to dismiss your ticket. 
 
More on my next blog post. I promise. 
 

There are two things that really bother me about these tickets.  
 
1) They're completely predatory and do nothing to improve traffic flow and congestion. Instead of having three of four "warriors" stand on the corner of W Broadway and Broome (near the Holland Tunnel) every day at rush hour, all you need is one traffic cop to control the traffic. They're making hundreds of dollars a minute at these intersections during peak hours and that's really all it's about. 
 
2) The violation/Complaint's Comments are just not true. The comments basically say that the officer observed a motorist enter an intersection during stopped traffic, but having watched these "warriors" chat it up on the street corner between light changes, the only thing they're observing is where your car is once the light has turned red. Now there's no way to prove this in a dispute, but the bottom line is that the standard Complaint's Comments for this violation are probably untrue in the majority of cases. 
 
Then again, maybe I'm just bitter about my ticket.

Shell, 
 
Thanks for taking your valuable time to visit our website and post a very insightful comment. I agree with your assessment of this blocking the box ticket frenzy.  
 
The evil sought to be prevented was congestion; and benefit promoted was pedestrian safety. In practice, we are witnessing parking ticket warrior made disasters. By that I mean, the congestion in the box is caused by the warriors stopping and lining up the driving public vehicles in the box to issue summons. 
 
So, the first vehicle in line is stopped in the box with no way to move to the side of the road; ergo, the second, third and fourth vehicles are caught in the box through no fault of their own; and issued parking tickets. 
 
Here's my suggestion. When the light turns green, use your best judgment about proceeding through the box. The coast must be clear for your vehicle. If you are caught in the box due to the activities of a warrior, then take photographs with your cell phone; while you are stopped in line. 
 
I urge the driving public to start documenting this dangerous behavior of the warriors and use the photos as evidence to dispute the tickets. I will be posting a blog article about this exact problem. 
 
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts. You've helped all of us.

Today (Sunday afternoon at about 3:30pm) I was given the ticket at the intersection of the Broome st and Crosby st. The traffic was pretty bad. I live in Jersey and haven't been to NYC for a long while. I didn't know that the traffic on weekend could be so bad. 
 
I was second behind the line when the traffic light turns green. The big van before me (blocked my view and I couldn't see the way before it) proceeded quickly to the intersection and according to my driving experience and the van's speed, I believe 100% that I would be able to get through the intersection. But suddenly the van stopped and I got stuck just when my front bumper hit the line, until after a while the traffic light turns yellow and then red. A traffic agent walked over and asked for my driver license and scanned my reg. The cars behind me who were also trying to pass the intersection quickly turned their car for left turn, while the car on my side also got pulled over by another agent. 
 
By any means I hate the cars who block the box, but in this case there is no way for me to know that I couldn't get through the intersection. The agents standing around the corner were just waiting to giving tickets instead of guiding a single bit of the traffic flow. 
 
After I searched over the net and found many other people have similar experiences. I hope drivers in NYC could use their video cameras to record such traps and help people. 

Bumper to bumper traffic in and out of the Lincoln. Traffic being caused by these useless traffic cops, laughing all the while as they pull these cars over and further obstruct traffic. The kicker is, if you sit at an intersection and wait for at least twenty open feet of road on the other side youre going to get 3 fingers, 7 horns, and two other cars that speed in front of you to take the open road on the other side. I'll never go to, or spend my money in NYC again. I hope this ticket is worth it for them. Fucking travesty things like this are allowed to happen. Have one of the low IQ parking dunces direct traffic flow instead of four laughing on a city corner and creating "lane obstruction" traps. NYC can go to hell. 
 
 
 
Oh yea, Im mad as shit btw.

Continue from my previous post. 
 
But the fact is that when the light turns red and I was in the box (or mostly in the box). Without strong evidence I guess it's hard to fight such a ticket. The only sure way to not get a ticket is to wait at the traffic light until there is enough space across the intersection. But under heavy traffic with so many cars trying to make left and right turns, it would be almost impossible to have such a situation. 
 
The only way to show help innocent drivers is to show the whole contexts of the events with videos.  

Kevin, 
 
You did a terrific job sharing your personal experience and identifying the "Catch 22" for the driving public. It's easy to write the rule. But, how does a driver avoid blocking the box during the crush of rush hour traffic? 
 
As you so aptly pointed out, your life isn't worth 2 cents if you don't drive your vehicle into the intersection when the light turns green. It becomes drive and pray. 
 
I'd like to see the DOT make a video about how the driving public is supposed to navigate through those nightmarish rush hour intersections. Education is important. Please educate us. 
 
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment. It benefits everyone.

Brandon, 
 
I truly understand your anger. Your comment is an absolutely accurate description of the sad state of affairs for the driving public in navigating rush hour traffic safely though the box. 
 
I am going to try to keep the blocking the box conversation alive. I will write another blog post; and also write a post on my Fox 5 News blog. 
 
Thanks for sharing your observations with our readers!

Larry, 
 
 
 
I too was a victim of this predatory practice. On my family’s first (and last) trip to NYC, we came through the Lincoln tunnel and were greeted at 41st and Dyer with a $115 fine. Welcome to New York! Previous posts describe the situation perfectly. 
 
 
 
I was the 3rd vehicle at the red-light and when the light turned green, I had plenty of room to clear the intersection on the other side until the 4-6 cars that were pulled aside to be ticketed previously, entered the roadway. This caused the congestion and I was stopped in the crosswalk. The agent asked for my license, as well as the vehicles behind me and made us pull over to make the congestion worse. 
 
 
 
The agent was laughing and joking with fellow agents, but was rude to me as he gave me my first ticket in 25 years. I made some of the money up by not paying the $16 “suggested admission” to the Museum of Natural History for my family of 4. This and the fact I will never set foot in NYC again makes me feel better, but it doesn’t make it right. 
 
 
 
POed in PA

BRW, 
 
I don't blame you one iota for being "POed in PA." Thanks for sharing your experience with us. It's very helpful to the driving public. 
 
I wrote a recent blog post about a solution to the blocking the box nightmare. My reading of the Rule is that when the light turns green, if the traffic on the other side of the intersection is moving, you are permitted to enter the intersection. 
 
Your very clear, concise, credible description of how gridlock was created by the bad behavior of a parking ticket warrior is sufficient, in my opinion, to fight your ticket and have a reasonable chance to win; despite the fact that you do not have photographic proof 
 
Please feel free to contact me if you need help.

These traffic agents are predatory. I got a ticket at 96th and 3rd ave where they have construction between 3rd and 2nd ave. These traffic clowns were using the jams generated by the construction work to trap people in the box. They were only ticketing cars in the direction of the construction work.

Jim, 
 
Thanks for the heads up. There has been a parking ticket feeding frenzy for blocking the box. It is next to impossible to navigate a gridlocked intersection during rush hour; especially when the gridlock is caused by the parking ticket warriors. 
 
You may wish to check out my other post on a possible course of action to take when confronted with congestion building up near an intersection 
 
Thanks for sharing your experience.

I can't believe this. MY experience was very similiar to BRW. My wife and I were heading into the city last weekend (Friday night). The shakedown took place on 37 Street and Park Avenue. The light turned green, I was the third car in line to cross over Park Avenue and the other side looked clear for at least three car lengths. I was already passed the north bound traffic on Park Avenue (and the traffice light)when suddenly the two cars in front stopped just as they cleared the intersection (There was a construction site on the corner. I thought that might have contributed to the sudden stop. I realized afterward that the sting operation set up by the traffic police was probably just as much a contributor to the back up). I was going to be the next car in line before clearing the intersection when another car coming up on my right traveling in the same direction sped up and cut in front of me. There was still a parking space on the left hand side of the road on the corner just passed the intersection that I could pull in towards. I realized the light on 37th Street went from green to yellow and then red(after I went through the middle of the intersection)because traffic on Park started up. I went to pull into the parking spot on the left hand side (just past the intersection) to clear the intersection. However, the traffic polic officer in their haste to issue a summons came running out and blocked my entrance to the parking space preventing me from clearing the intersection. But for the traffic officer I would have been able to clear the intersection by pulling into the spot. There were also other traffic officers at the intersection swarming to other vehicles behind me and to the side of me, ironically creating a worse situation then otherwise would have existed. 
 
 
 
This was clearly a shakedown, which I now realize, thanks to your website, has been orchestrated by Mayor Bloomberg on a large scale level with the help of the traffic police.  
 
 
 
I understand that more than ever NYC is looking for ways to increase its revenue intake in light of its gloomy economic position and this is one of the many ways it plans to do so, but this is ridiculous. 
 
 
 
I contemplated fighting this ticket, but based upon some of the entries on your website it sounds like an uphill battle. My wife witnessed this episode as well and was just as stunned as I was at the inequity of the situation.

They’re counting on you to not fight it, that’s how they get away with it. You should fight it, let the judge know that as a tax payer you have a RIGHT not be victimized by any Government agency. The more people say the same thing to these judges the better off we are. I would also go to the intersection with a digital camera and click away, make a series of PowerPoint presentations with artistic genius etc. throw it in the judges’ face. Even if you loose it takes up their time. Carry a digital camera with you… you never know when you will catch THESE CLOWNS. I work for NYCT/MTA and I’m working on trying to find out by what authority do these clowns get to use one of our operational bus stop for their little ticket soiree… so far they can’t. By the way… these fools are not police officers, they’re civilian Traffic Enforcement Agents, they can’t arrest anyone or write a moving violation.

I had the same thing crossing 59th street and 3rd avenue. My exit on the other side of 3rd avenue was clear until the traffic agents were standing in the road, causing the bottleneck. And I still insist the light was green, my car was still in motion. In fact, when I spoke with the brownie who was more than happy to give me the ticket, I insisted the light was green, in which she replied twice "the crosswalk signal said don't walk", because since she was on the other side of 3rd Avenue, could not see the current status of the traffic light.

JM, Jim and Mike, 
 
You guys are absolutely right on! I feel your frustration with the abusive tactics employed by the parking ticket warriors in the battle for the box.  
 
I endorse and wholeheartedly agree that the best chance of winning our battles is to document the status on the opposite side of the intersection when the light turns green. If traffic is moving, you are permitted to enter the box. 
 
I will keep advocating a more reasonable, honest approach to trying to reduce congestion, pollution and noise; but cannot condone the present tactics. 
 
I publish the most viewed independent blog for Fox 5 News and recently published an article about this issue.  
 
I am going to communicate with City Council Member, Simcha Felder, a strong advocate for the rights of the driving public. Any help you can give on this issue will be greatly appreciated by all of us. 
 
Thanks for taking your valuable time to share your NYC parking ticket experiences.

Thank god I found this site. I thought I was alone. I see now that almost EXACTLY the same thing happened to others. I too can't stand box blockers (though the most notorious are buses and extremely frustrated by being cut off. As such, I never move into the intersection until I actually see space for me to move into on the other side. Last night, on 96th St at First Ave, I was at the light and an SUV was on the other side. I couldn't see what space was available or not in front of the SUV, but I assumed there was none. Then a cop, standing next to the SUV, waved me across, and in spite of what I could see, I crossed. The next thing I knew, the SUV did NOT move and the light changed and all of a sudden, 3 more officers appear from out of no where and one tells me I'm blocking the box and writes me a ticket. I told him and others that the one guy had just waved me through but ... obviously ... the ticket written, who the hell cares. I was (and am) furious and feel set up. What's the message of THAT? Do not comply with police orders? Baffling.

MB, 
 
I am just as happy that you found our website, and took your valuable time to share your parking ticket experience. You may have a reasonable shot at beating this ticket. 
 
I think the key here is that you followed the police officer's direction, as you are required by law to obey. This fact, in addition to the fact that you made an observation about the movement of traffic on the opposite side of the intersection may give you sufficient credible facts to fight and win. 
 
I am normally a proponent of having photographic proof to document a defense to a "blocking the box." But, I firmly believe and will relentlessly advocate that the driving public fight when they are right! 
 
You have 2 options; 
1. Fight you parking ticket and risk paying $115; or, 
 
2. Applying for a reduced fine. Your fine will be reduced to $90. 
 
Please share your decision with us. Thanks! 
 

I got a ticket for blocking the box, is there only a fine and no points? 
 
Please advise. 
 
Thanks. 
 
E

I am very upset about a ticket I received for "blocking the box". I was near the Holland Tunnel and was the second car waiting for a red light to turn green. While waiting, I noticed a man pushing his car that was stuck to my left and I let him go ahead of me. Once the light went green, he went and made a right and I proceeded to move up where I was in the middle of the box. I was there for more than 1 minute waiting for the cars ahead of me to move up for which they never did. I see a few cops on the corner talking to each other and once the light turned red, one officer went right to me and promptly gave me a ticket. I was outraged because for one she never tried to help the congestion by directing traffic at all. She simply was not interested in that. Second, she asked me if I belong to a "department". If I had been a "member" of the PBA or whatever I would have gotten out of the ticket. I'm sorry I don't belong to any special clubs that save me from ridiculous tickets.

E, 
 
Thanks for stopping by and posting a comment. We all learn from the conversation. Blocking the box is accorded a dual status of a moving violation, or a parking ticket.  
 
If your ticket cited VC 9, obstructing an intersection, it is a parking ticket with no points. Otherwise, the moving violation is called "spillover," and it comes with 2 points. 
 
As you can see from the comments and blog posts, blocking the box is not being enforced the way the rule is written. You may be interested in my video, or 3 recent posts on the subject. 
 
Good luck.

James, 
 
You are absolutely, positively right. I feel your frustration and I am trying to do something about it. I have: 
1.Posted a video on my Fox 5 News NYC Blog 
2.Posted an article on my Fox 5 News Blog 
3.Posted 3 articles and a video on our website 
4.Devoted an entire radio show to how to beat blocking the box 
 
I plan to do more, including: 
1.Ask a well know parking ticket crusader to take moving pictures of the blocking the box ticket frenzy 
2.Sending copies of all comments about blocking the box to Councilman, Simcha Felder, who is a champion of the NYC driving public. 
 
Please, take action. If we don't speak out, it will only get worse. 
 
Thanks for sharing your parking ticket experience. It is a benefit to all of us.

So, I got one of these 'blocking the box tickets' yesterday. I thought I was one of those candid TV shows and any second someone would jump out with cameras laughing 'gotcha' or something. 
 
However this was not true, I couldn't believe what transpired in about 30 seconds. I was asked to pull over and a ticket was thrown in the passenger window to my wife. In fact, my ticket states 'refused name' but I was never even asked my name, nor given a chance to say anything. It all happened so fast, otherwise I would have explained how I was cut off by the van in the lane next to me. 
 
What should I do, I can't afford this ticket.

I got a ticket for blocking the box at 4 pm two days ago at the intersection of 96th St and 1st Ave. It was my first ticket in my alst 40 years of driving. It was a police trap similar to others that have been described in your blog, although I was not aware of it at the time. I was the third car in line at the red light on 96th St. No one was directing traffic at the intersection. When the light turned green, 1st Ave was clear and it looked safe to proceed. However, the rear of my car was in the box when the light changed. A squad of traffic officers, who has been waiting out of sight on the southeast corner of the intersection, charged into the small knot of cars. The woman who led the charge came to car next to me, scanned the car and shouted "I got one!" The driver was upset and asked her why she was giving out tickets, instead of directing traffic. She ignored his question and came over to my car. She scanned my car and shouted "I got another one!"  
 
As I received my $115 ticket, I realized that we motorists were being hunted by the police. It was akin to pride of lions attacking a herd of herbivores. Until this moment, I always thought that the police were there to protect the citizens. Instead, these officers were preying on us. I will never fully trust them again. 
 
 
 
Who authorizes and designs these operations? Do we send recruits to the police academy to train them to prey on law-abiding citizens? Are these people hired simply to generate income for NYC? Whose policy is this? How high does this policy go?  
 
 
 
Don Shernoff

Don, 
 
Amen! Fabulous comment. You are absolutely correct. Your story mirrors many similar episodes of the parking ticket feeding frenzy that goes on daily. 
 
You may wish to check on my two most recent blog posts on exactly the horror story you eloquently present. Let's take action! 
 
Thanks for sharing your experience, which is helpful to all of us.

I knew the processes were predatory, but how can you fight it. I am not able to take off a day in order to fight this ticket. The Brownie did the same thing to me. They stopped the car in front of me, did not pull him out of the intersection. Although I did not move into the intersection, she came back and gave me a ticket for obstructing. Saying I was blocking the bus lane. Which was also not correct. I even backed up as much as possible.  
 
 
 
I too vowed to not go into NYC after this. I paid for a conference, however I would not spend any discrestionary cash in the city.

Barbara, 
I apologize for "missing" your comment. It is very unsettling to have a person under color of authority disrespect you and the traffic rules she is supposed to enforce. Rest assured you are not alone. 
 
I will continue to keep this issue of illegal enforcement of VC 9 in the public eye. More to come...I promise. 
 
Thank you very much for sharing your experience. It genuinely helps all of us.

I received a ticket for blocking the box near the Holland Tunnel. I 
 
felt victimized and truly believed I was not quilty. The back end of my car was in the box but it was not blocking traffic. I decided to plea not quilty and provided an explanation after reading Larry's blog. I am happy to report I have a "not quilty" verdict and the fine due $0. My suggestion to everyone who believes she/he is a victim, plea "not quilty". 
 
Good Luck !

Nancy, 
You made my day! I applaud the action you took to fight when you were right. 
 
Thanks for sharing your experience with our readers. I know your action and outcome will inspire others to do the same. 
 

The traffic box on Varick St. was open. I was waiting at the light on Watts for the Holland Tunnel lines across the street to move so I could side in. They moved enough for me to fit and I went across the intersection while the light was still green. I was not in the box or blocking anyone. A cop came over and pulled me out of line and started to issue me a ticket. I got out of the car and expressed that I was not in anyway blocking anything. The other brownie told me to shut up and get back into the car. Then a plain-clothes detective pulled up, told me to get back in the car. I did and told him that I wasn't guilty of anything. That it wasn't right for me to have to supplement NYC budget. He then told the cop to issue me another ticket for failure to comply with police directions, a criminal court violation. I thought this was America. I guess I can't say anything. I was totally innocent and now I have to go through this garbage. I guess they can do whatever they want and I know the courts stand behind them. Just ripping off the public for money. I'll fight it and lose, but they will definitely here what I have to say in court!

You people have to stop calling these traffic agents cops, they are not police officers.

Regards and thank you in advanced for your time to review and respond. 
 
 
 
The facts: I received a ticket in NYC for violation of sect. 4.08 section (e) 12 of the NYC traffic rules "obstructing traffic at Intersection". The ticket was issued at the entrance of the Holland Tunnel during rush hour where traffic backs up easily if a single car stops abruptly. I had a green light and proceeded because there was enough space for my vehicle at the end of the intersection (and was holding traffic behind me creating more congestion at the other intersection). However, when I approached the intersection, pedestrians were walking with a "Do not walk" sign and obviously I had to stop to yield to pedestrians. At that instance, other vehicles that were pulled over previously by the officers, cut in front of my vehicle re-entering my traffic lane, leaving me with no space to move past the intersection. Two officers were standing at the corner waiting for cars to stop there and walked right to my window to issue me the ticket. The officers were actually creating the bottleneck by stopping cars to issue the summons. This is irrational since the congestion was being caused by all the vehicles they pulled over to receive the summons and there is no possible way to predict the traffic behavior from the other intersection. If there is sufficient unobstructed space beyond the opposite side of the intersection to accommodate the vehicle in the lane in which the vehicle is being driven then we can proceed, but how can we predict if that behavior changes by the time we getr to the other side like in this case? 
 
 
 
The officer did not ask for my license and did not record the license number. The car is registered in Maryland. The ticket I was issued has the correct plate number and general car information but listed Massachussets (MA) instead of Maryland (MD) as the state of registration for the car. 
 
 
 
Chapter 39, title 19 of the official compilation of Rules of the City of New York states in section 39-02 (a) and (c) "Notice of violation" that if any information that is required to be inserted in a notice of violation is ommitted from the notice of violation, misdescribed or illegible, the violation shall be dismissed upon application of the person charged with the violation. Required information includes the plate number and the state of registration.  
 
 
 
Can this ticket be dismissed via mail based on the incorrect ("misdescribed") state of registration? Should I fight it or simple ignore it since that plate number from that state probably does not even exist and can not be associated with me. 
 
 
 
I believe this a bigger issue and I would personally like to fight it to support your efforts. What kind of evidence (besides a copy of the ticket and the car registration) do I need to submit? 
 

John, 
 
It's great to talk to you again. Your moral compass absolutely points, "True North." I admire your sense of when you are right, fight.  
 
I replied to the substantive part of your question on FaceBook. A witness statement is always helpful. 
 
If you chose to fight, please email me a copy of the affidavits you prepare. It is my pleasure to review and make suggestions, if necessary. Let's work on this together. I do believe the issue is bigger. 
 
Thanks for taking action that will benefit us all. 
 

10/09 - I received a 'blocking the box' tkt. $115 @ 96th and 3rd ave. I was proceeding across 3rd at a green light in traffic flow. Once across cars in front of me just stopped. I waited at least one minute before the light turned to yellow (for 3 seconds) and then red. Three traffic officers who were chatting on the corner pounced upon 3 of us and gave us tkts. If 3 traffic officers are there, then you know it's a SET UP. I bet it happens at every light. After reading some of the comments, I realize it's a waste of time to fight without videos and evidence. Now I know how a jailed criminal must feel - HOPELESS! I wish Skyler who works for Bloomberg would use these traffic officers to tkt. people who park in front of my building (west 62nd st, bet, Broadway and Columbus in time periods when they shouldn't who have commerical vans or handicapped decals and park all day because they work in the area.

I got the "Obstructing Traffic at Intersection (e)(12)" yesterday while trying to enter holland tunnel from west-side highway. 
 
There are some required missing elements in my ticket, please advice if I should discard the ticket or fight it? 
 
The lady approached me and demanded for my license, I played dumb and did not give her anything. A few minutes later, she handed me the ticket.. on the ticket, she have the following: 
 
Name: Refused Name; Exp. Date: N/A 
Car Year: N/S (I believe this not sure); VIN#: <last 4 digits of my VIN>; Plate: ABC 123 ZY;  
 
Now she got my plate number wrong, giving the example above, my actual plate# is ABC 122 ZY, but she wrote ABC 123 ZY in the ticket. 
 
Since she did not have my license, name and a wrong plate#, it really appear that they do not have anything on me. My only concern is the VIN#; is it possible that she scanned the VIN# and stored it but the printed ticket only printed the last four digits on my ticket? 
 
I believe Exp. Date, Plate# & maybe year are required elements, but they are missing on my ticket so based on those especially the wrong plate# I can win this case. But if there is no way of identifying why border the administrative officer or wast time, paper & stamp? 
 
Answer to the VIN# question and clarification of my defence will determine my next step 

I read your other blog and have noticed that, since I am an out of state driver (NJ); and it is not required that my registration be displayed on my windshield... 
 
The following required elements though missing from the ticket will be ignored by the Judge: 
 
Exp. Date: N/A 
Year: N/S 
 
Moreso, since N/A & N/S is stated in the ticket, the Judge will not dismiss it based on that, I also noticed that, my vehicle might have been scanned, so ignoring the ticket might be a little fool-headed.. 
 
However, I might still have a strong dismissal grounds; my plate was wrong on the ticket: instead of something like ABC 123 YZ, the ticket had ABC 122 YZ. 
 
I intend to fight it on the license plate# required missing element ground and I intend to attached a photo-copy of my license, a picture of my front and rear plates and a little writeup asking for dismissal base on missing required element, please advice.

William, 
Thanks for visiting our website and posting such an informative comment. You are correctamundo on all counts.  
 
The correct license plate number is a required element, and if missing, entitles you to a dismissal of your NYC parking ticket.  
 
I suggest attaching your vehicle registration with your letter; rather than going through the extra headache of photographing your license plates. 
 
Nicely done, intelligently described. Fight when you are right!

Hello, 
 
 
 
I received this VC9 violation. I'm out of state and on my ticket it said that I refused my name (which was not true). There were about 5 ticket agents at the intersection taht day. Anyway, on my ticket the expiration date was written 04/09 when in fact was 04/10. will this be enough for me to dispute my ticket and write a plead-not guilty letter due to wrong expiration date written on my ticket? Please advise. Do I also need to explain why I shouldn't have gotten the ticket in the first place? I was out of the box and not obstructing the intersection at all -- but the lady said that about 4 inches of my bumper was still in the the box. Give me a break. I'm a tourist and they were all hanging out there chatting and pulled over about 5-6 cars at the same time that day for Labor Day Weekend "Fundraising". I was so angry because I was clearly not in the intersection at all, and I should have gotten out of the car and take a picture, but she told me I have to stay inside the vehicle. She even said that she felt sorry for me because I was out of state so she didn't give me the 2 points that I could have gotten? Now I realized that this was a parking violation and there was no points to begin with. What a liar!

Dan, 
 
Thanks very much for visiting our website and posting a comment. You are one of many who has been invited to make a non-deductible contribution to the NYC blocking the box fundraiser. You are now officially a member of the NYC driving public with one purple heart.  
 
Registration expiration date is a required element and must be inserted correctly in a NYC parking ticket. If not, you are entitled to a dismissal of your parking ticket, upon application. 
The exception to the general rule covers out-of-state automobiles that are not required to display registration data. Under these circumstances, the parking ticket warrior is required to insert "N/A" or "N/S" in the box on the parking ticket. 
 
My opinion is that since the warrior inserted the WRONG date of expiration, and not "N/A" or "N/S"...You win.  
 
I recommend fighting your NYC parking ticket on two issues: 
1. Misdescribed required element,i.e., date of registration expiration; and, 
 
2. You were not blocking the box. 
 
I suggest reading my posts, and/or listening to my videos so that you understand the essential information that must be included in your defense of a blocking the box parking ticket. There are also posts on how to contest your parking ticket for a missing required element. 
 
By the way, a NYC police officer can issue a blocking the box parking ticket; or a traffic ticket called spillover, which carries 2 points. A parking ticket warrior is not empowered to issue a traffic ticket for spillover. Shame on the warrior! 
 
Please feel free to call me, or complete a website form if you need further assistance. 
 
When you are right--FIGHT 
 
Good luck. Please let us all know how you make out. 
 

I received my 1st traffic violation today..I was behind two cars between Roosevelt and Broadway in Queens. And the two cars didn't move, I was few inches inside the box.. next to impossible a lady officer scanned my registration. What upset me was the lady didn't even bother to ask my license and rudely handled me the ticket...with a label Refused to give Name. Will this affect my insurance? Thanks.

Nancy, 
Thanks so much for visiting our website and posting your comment. Sharing your parking ticket experience helps all of us. 
 
I am sure you were issued the "parking ticket" version of the blocking the box violation. To be certain, please check the front of you ticket for the charge, VC 9. If so, there are no points and it will not affect your insurance. 
 
You may wish to inspect the front of your parking ticket for mistakes that may entitle you to a dismissal of your ticket. If you need our assistance, please feel free to submit a form. We will respond promptly. 
 
Good luck.

I just received a blocking the box ticket this weekend for the same reasons described above. These guys are creating traffic and then giving tickets to innocent drivers. This must be stopped! I am going back there and documenting some video of whats going on and take it to court if i have some good evidence. Do you think it will hold value if the video is a week later at the same location?

Moe, 
You are absolutely correct. This bad behavior has to be stopped. Rush hour intersections are becoming fundraisers for NYC. 
 
I'm not sure video will work to prove your case. It is not evidence of what happened to you at the time your ticket was issued. However, You could argue that it is evidence of a custom of parking ticket warriors to improperly enforce this violation; which supports your claim. 
 
I'd love to take a look at your video. If it makes our point, I'm happy to publish it. 
 
Good luck.

Several months ago I rec'd a block-the-box ticket at 59th and Fifth in a sting operation. I fought the ticket online and won. The car in front of me had his blinker on (perhaps unknowingly) signaling a right turn down Fifth. He went straight through 59th Street instead and I was stuck in the box and pulled over. I argued that had the motorist actually made the right turn, I would have had room to pass the box. I had no documentation other than the explanation and the ticket was dismissed.

It was about 4:00pm Saturday, the traffic is not too bad. My husband and I were driving a minivan on the Walker Street right out of Holland Tunnel. Our car was the first car waiting on light before entering the box on Church steet. There was a car parked left side of the road on the other side of the box with some police officers ( traffic agents) circling around it, we were wondering what was going on while waiting for the light. The light turned green , we crossed the box, and entered the white line , all of the sudden the car parked on the left started giving the signal and trying to get back to main road, which is a one-lane street, we stopped to let the car to get in. At this time, our car was half on the pedestrian path. A traffic agent came and knocked on our window and asked for the driver license without saying anything else but walked away. 
 
At this time, the light was still green, and we crossed the intersection with the front wheels in the white pedestrian crossing lines, there was no car in front of us. We didn’t know what was going on but had to stop and wait for him to come back to us. Two agents went to pull over 4 or 5 cars behind us which were blocked by our car. Finally he came back to us, direct our car to the right side about 50 feet ahead to park, and issued a ticket to us for “obstructing the traffic”. Only then, we realized what was going on, and also realized that he was using our car to block other cars so that three of them could issue the tickets. Even though we were not in violation first since we crossed the intersection already, but we lost the opportunity to collect any evidence, the light has turned green twice, our car has been pulled over to a position far away from our original stopping point. We were very mad, we were not the ones who were “obstructing the traffic”. We stopped only because he asked us so. He was using our car as a road block to trap other drivers. The traffic was fine without them, no box blocking or what so ever.  
 
I went out of the car, and talked to the other drivers who were being ticketed. We exchanged the phone numbers. When other drivers found out that we were stopped by the Traffic agents when there was no traffic in front of us, they were mad, too. At this time, one of the traffic agents who claimed to be Captain McMichaels came to me and threatened to arrest me for obstructing them working. I said to him that he is setting up the traps to drivers, and he is abusing the power of a police officer (I didn’t know the difference between a traffic police and a real police then), and I am going to report him. They were all scared and stopped blocking the traffic since I have my cell phone camera on my hand. I told him that they are the mobsters with police uniforms, and he said “Sue me! Sue Bloomberg!”.  
 
I am wondering, who gave them the right to do such things. Is this legal? Do we, as the law-obeying citizen, have any rights? Can anyone help? I just don’t think what they are doing is right! I will go to the court to fight, not for reducing the $115 fine, but I think they should be stopped and punished! Do you have any advise?  
 
New Jersey, Kathy

Doug, 
Wow. Please come work for us. Congratulations on a job well done. Most people generally do not have any evidence to support their "blocking the box" defense. That is what the DOF is relying upon. 
 
However, I believe that many hearing officers will dismiss a ticket when you story makes sense and is persuasive. Yours is a great example of the system working the right way. 
 
As our visitors and friends can tell from my comments, it is critical to explain why you couldn't make it through the box. What happened during your perilous journey to stop you from clearing the opposite crosswalk?  
 
I tip my hat to Doug. When you're right-FIGHT! And, you won!

New Jersey Kathy, 
You should be proud of yourself. I know I am. You acted admirably. You saw a wrong and you sought to right it. It took a lot of courage to confront those warriors. 
 
Your story is compelling, persuasive and the truth. When you are right-FIGHT. It would be great if all of you appeared in court together. You can call witnesses when you dispute your parking ticket; and you certainly have them. Each of you can call the others as witnesses, too, in order to fight your parking ticket. 
 
I am on a mini-crusade about this bad behavior of parking ticket warriors. I plan to communicate with Simcha Felder, a Brooklyn Council person who is a true friend of the NYC driving public in their fight against these types of unreasonable tactics. 
 
I plan to send a copy of all the comments posted by our visitors and friends. Hopefully, that will spur some action. In addition, I am the most viewed independent blogger for Fox 5 News NYC and will write a blog post about your story. 
 
Let's continue our fight against this type of injustice. 
 
Good luck. 
 

Wow! I thought I was the only victim. Yesterday as I decided to drive to 181 Street (bad move), I got one of those "blocking the box" ticket. I was the first on the red light with a NYC bus parallel to me(bus Stop), the light turns green, I go and so does the bus and then aggressively gets infront of me. I let the bus go not realizing that now the other light is about to turn red and the pedestrians like vultures start crossing the street right in front of my car. Here comes the ninja with his lazer gun and lazers me. It was either running over the pedestrians or blocking the "almighty Box". I hate those NINJAS!

Patricia, 
Thanks for visiting our website and posting your valuable comment. It is important that members of the NYC driving public help each other navigate the mean streets of NYC.  
 
I am on a mini-crusade against the evil tactics employed by the parking ticket warriors (I love your "ninja" label). I'm going to wait until mid-January to allow more time for comments, and send an open letter with a copy of all comments to Councilman Simcha Felder, a real advocate for the NYC driving public. I want to persuade him to take up our fight against the blocking the box fundraiser.  
 
When the light turned green, was there enough unobstructed space in your lane of travel for your car to pass through the intersection? If so, when you're right-FIGHT!  
 
There is no fine reduction available for a blocking the box violation; so, you have nothing to lose. You and the NYC driving public have a lot to gain.  
 
Let me know what your plans are.

I apologize if anyone else had said this but really, the traffic cops are just doing what they were told to do. It's hard to keep your job when you don't. Who we really should be mad at is the city for trying to make up their deficit in this illogical way. I'm going to fight the ticket but personally I'm just going to waste at least a thousand dollars of City Hall money. I realize this will probably just make them crack down on more things but I'll be more careful next time.

Adam, 
Well said! Here's a personal thought, which I've shared with our visitors and clients.  
 
Most of the parking ticket warriors perform a very difficult job in accordance with the letter of the law. On the other hand, there are warriors, who make up a shameful minority, who perform their job with no regard for enforcing the parking rules as written. 
 
The powers-to-be share the blame; but don't own it. I was only following orders to illegally enforce parking rules doesn't hold water with me. There are too many members of the NYC driving public that violate the rules and should be ticketed. You don't need to shoot that beam of light where you know it doesn't belong. 
 
For example, warriors are still issuing parking tickets for parking in front of long street, mid-block pedestrian ramps, knowing full well it is no longer a violation. 
 
Another example, warriors are issuing fire hydrant violations and grossly misrepresenting the distance a vehicle is parked away from the fire hydrant. 
 
Another, another example is when a warrior does not insert the name of the operator on the ticket; despite the presence of the operator in the vehicle when the parking ticket is issued. However, they still perjure themselves by signing their names at the bottom of the parking ticket and attest that the operator is not present. 
 
How about blocking the box. Do you really think the battalion of warriors stationed at an intersection during rush hour, observe the action taken by the drivers when the light turns green, prior to entering the box? Or, do they race into the box when the traffic light turns red and hand out parking tickets to the blocking the box fundraiser? They are enforcing the blocking the box rule, illegally! 
 
We all walk this planet with an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. When we follow the advice of the guy/lady with the pitch fork, you are accountable for making a bad decision. 
 
I bundled those sub-prime mortgages because my boss made me. The only reason I took that outlandish bonus was everyone else was taking them. The sargent gave me that illegal order, I couldn't say no....Every other politician takes bribes, why shouldn't I? Everyone cheats on tests. I was only keeping up with traffic. My resume was almost the truth. 
 
 
 
 
You are responsible for your actions. When you do the wrong thing, you are to blame. Keep an eye on your moral compass. It should always point North. If you get lost, don't blame everyone else. 
 
Adam, thanks for taking your valuable time to visit our web site. You opinion matters! 
 

Come visit a place that doesn't have this rule and you will see how people just block the intersection and don't let anyone pass, that is until they get to cross the intersection. 
Good rule, poor execution.

Trish 
There isn't a member of the driving public that doesn't hate box blockers. In NYC, as in other cities, towns, boroughs, big and small, the intersections must be regulated, move freely, or else chaos ensues. 
 
Why are parking ticket warriors standing on the sidelines during the chaos of rush hour traffic in NYC, when they should be directing the flow of traffic through the intersections? Why are warriors engaging in unfair tactics that have been enumerated by this writer and our visitors and friends? All evidence points to one answer...VC 9, blocking the box is a NYC fundraiser.  
 
Thank you for your excellent comment. You hit the bull right, square in the eye.

I got one of these tickets for haveing 8inches of the tail end of my vehicle in the box because of traffic caused by a police officer

Thanks for visiting our website and sharing your NYC blocking the box experience. Believe me, you are not alone on this. 
 
I'm going to take some action in the political arena to fight the unfair tactics used by some of the warriors. Stay tuned.