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NYC to Install Boots on Parking Ticket Offenders


The city is planning to begin installing wheel clamps on cars belonging to parking ticket scofflaws in the outer boroughs as soon as next week, according to a published report.

The Daily News is reporting the city will launch a three- to six-month pilot program to ‘boot” parking ticket offenders in Brooklyn, and then Queens and Staten Island beginning Monday.

It will eventually be rolled out citywide.

A spokeswoman for the city Finance Department told the News that booting “could be a better collection tool, both more convenient for motorists and a potential deterrent for future violators.”

When a car has more than $350 in judgments, a city sheriff will authorize employees of the boot’s operating company, Paylock, to attach a boot, according to the News. The driver can then call a toll-free number to pay the fees over the phone, and will be given a code to release the lock.

Drivers can also pay in cash at designated payment centers.

In addition to the ticket fines, the driver will have to pay a $180 boot fee, a $70 city fee and a 5 percent surcharge on the total bill. There will be an additional fee for paying with a credit card.

And a car that gets the boot could still also be towed — if the driver doesn’t pay in two days, the vehicle will be towed, and by then, the owner will be charged both the $180 boot fee and an additional $185 towing fee.

The city Marshals Association, which currently tows cars when offenders exceed $350 in fines, will not participate in the boot program.

According to the Daily News, the fees for retrieving a towed car and for removing the parking boot are comparable at about $300 for someone who owed $355 in judgments.

(Source: NY Daily News)



4 Responses

  1. One question- what do I do with the boot after they give me the code? Oh…you want it back? That’ll be $300 + my city fee + my 5% surcharge….. I can ship it back to you for a small convenience fee, or you can look for it in the dumpster. If crooks can break a “club” they’ll figure out how to get these off too. Ave J is going to be so much fun when all the parking spaces are taken up with booted cars!!!!

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