mendezia wrote:
How do the brain surgeons at the JCPA plan on collecting these fines? Are they now requiring bikes to have license plates?

I still like the idea of documenting the situation and evidence and forwarding it the JCPA to rescind the ticket, with a note that if it proceeds to Court and that if I were successful and the ticket gets thrown out, an additional fee of $50 and hour will apply to JCPA for time wasting and loss of income and administration costs for the effort of going to Court..................There must be a dude out there prepared to give this ago..........siht I've even heard that if an authority (cityhall etc) wins, they can and have, seek extra courts costs so why can't we if we present the evidence to them prior to court !

I wish they would ticket for parking too close to the curb rather than this.

GrovePath wrote:
Jersey City expands parking options for residents; revises 'booting' policy

By Melissa Hayes/The Jersey Journal
January 17, 2010, 3:08PM

Only motorist will two outstanding tickets will be booted, according to an ordinance introduced by the Jersey City City Council

Jersey City residents may soon be able to park in any zone in the city for up to four hours.

The City Council introduced an ordinance Wednesday to create a new four-hour permit, which would allow residents to shop and dine leisurely outside of the zone they live in.

There are currently 12 different parking zones in the city, most of them Downtown. Residents are charged $15 a year per vehicle to park in these zones, while non-residents are charged $300 annually.

This new four-hour option would an additional fee, the price of which has not been determined, said Jersey City Parking Authority Executive Director Mary Spinello-Paretti.

Ward E Councilman Steven Fulop authored the ordinance that would also create a city-wide policy for booting vehicles and add the City Clerk's Office as another location to obtain visitors parking permits. "Jersey City residents should have flexibility to park in the city and visit restaurants, parks, family," he said.Journal staff photo
Ward E Councilman Steven Fulop successfully introduced an ordinance that would create a new permit to allow Jersey City residents to park anywhere in the city for up to four hours and restricts booting to motorists who have at least two outstanding tickets.

Currently visitor's passes, which are $3 per day, must be picked up at the Jersey City Parking Authority building on Central Avenue. Fulop said the clerk's office in City Hall on Grove Street would make obtaining passes more convenient.

The booting portion of the ordinance stems from hundreds of complaints from residents and visitors about getting booted immediately for parking on certain city streets.

Under the ordinance, a boot would only be placed on a vehicle that has two outstanding tickets.

The ordinance specifies that if a municipal court judge rules that the vehicle's owner was not guilty of the offenses the booting fees would be refunded. In the past, the Parking Authority kept administrative fees.

Officials are still working on a policy to refund people who were wrongly booted in the past.

Yup_Sure_Okay wrote:
I parked my brand new car (minutes off of the lot) in front of my apartment and was booted in about 20 minutes. In an act of bravery and desperation, I marched down to the Parking Authority and demanded that they remove my boot free of charge. I demanded to speak with whomever was in charge. I was escorted upstairs through the marble hallways and spoke with Ferdinand Picariello. After about a half hour of his time, I think he was sick of talking to me and had them remove the boot for free.

I consider this one of my greatest accomplishments.

Althea wrote:
Thanks Christine, that means a lot.

I don't dream Councilman Fulop to be anything and I don't dream any single individual anything more than human. This is why I fight my own battles and work as hard as I do for my community. There are a lot more community activists out there and we all have the choice to support the initiatives and issues that we feel are a priority rather than stick behind one individual. I think you will find Councilman Fulop in full agreement with this philosophy as well. Think for yourself and do for yourself. An elected official voting as a true representative of her/his area does not need to fool people or keep them silent and apathetic... make them believe in them. S/he needs their constituents to be active, aware, and free thinking.

Only time will tell if people will care enough to vote their conscience and elect representatives that vote in the best interests of the people.

On your point about the current directors not knowing the policy, there is only one director, Mary Spinello. Until about 7 months ago she sat on the Council arguing for a better booting and parking policy. So I doubt very much that she some how erased her memory of the ordinances. I would be very happy to set up a personal meeting between you and her though if you really think she doesn't know the policy.

However, I think what you are saying is that even those in higher positions within the JCPA don't know their own policy. On this I would not be surprised. Many people who park on the Hoboken border get ticketed by JCPA. So some don't even know where JC ends.

It is ashame that the JCPA is an autonomous agency.