Ticket writing frenzy in NYC
I don't know if non-NY residents have heard about this (or even care), but considering the dire financial straits that the city of New York is in after 9/11, it's been revealed that the police have been given "quotas" as far as their ticket writing goes- they're expected to write tickets without mercy for even the smallest of infractions. Recent examples:
Some men are sitting outside of a resturant on the sidewalk. One of them is sitting on a milk crate. A cop comes along and gives the guy a $120 ticket because it aparently says on milk crates that "it cannot be used for anything but the intended use". :wtf:
A woman, whose business is struggling, decides to go out and hang some flyers advertising a sale at her store on the telephone poles around her neighborhood. If you've been to NYC, you see flyers EVERYWHERE, so you figure it's no big deal, right? Nope, turns out it's against the law. A few days later she gets 33 tickets in the mail for $75 a pop, totaling $2475. She's going to contest the tickets in court but if she has to pay it might put her business under.
A man on the subway falls asleep and slumps over onto the seat next to him. A cop writes him a $75 ticket for "taking up two whole seats".
There's a city school where teachers have been parking in the schoolyard for years, as there's no place anywhere near the school to park. A cop comes in and tickets every single car in the yard.
What the hell is going on? I know 9/11 has taken a lot out of the city's funds but there must be some other way to relieve the burden without turning NYC into a police state. It's almost like they want people to leave. I mean, I go into the city on a regular basis and now I'm more worried about breaking some obscure law and getting a huge ticket than I am of getting mugged. Hold a fucking telethon or something if you need dough.
I knew Mayor Bloomberg would be a problem when the street bums started showing up on every corner and subway again shortly after he took over for Giuliani...Giuliani ruled.
