New York, NY – Cash Starved City Squeezes Residents for $900 Million in Fines

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    New York, NY – The cash-starved city is socking New Yorkers with a massive ticket blitz in a bid to pump an extra $80 million into its depleted coffers, records show.

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    Reluctant to raise taxes publicly, the Bloomberg administration is pursuing a “stealth tax” — launching an unprecedented squeeze on Big Apple residents and businesses, cracking down on parking, health, safety and quality-of-life infractions with a vengeance, the data shows.

    The ongoing blitz has worked so well that City Hall bean counters expect to rake in a record $884 million in fines by the end of this fiscal year, which runs from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010.

    That’s a 10% jump over last year’s $802 million.

    And there’s no letting up. Fines are projected to increase to $896 million in 2011.

    “We need to get the revenue from somewhere,” said a City Hall source. “We could just tax people and take it out of your wallet or we can be aggressive in enforcement.”

    But what’s good for the city’s bottom line is misery for the Average Joe, who’s being tagged with more tickets for offenses such as parking at an expired meter, improperly sorting trash and putting up illegal stoop-sale posters.

    Business owners are getting hit even harder, thanks to aggressive new enforcement from health and building inspectors.

    If you run a bistro or bar, watch your back. The Health Department issued 34,039 restaurant violations in 2009, up from 25,745 in 2008, and it’s on pace to bank $38 million in fines this year after getting $31 million in both 2009 and 2008.

    The Buildings Department nearly doubled the dollar-value of tickets it gave out in 2009, issuing $161 million in fines during the fiscal year, up from $86 million in 2008.

    Despite the flurry of summonses, it didn’t increase its haul by much. The department pocketed $28 million in 2009 and $27 million in 2008.

    Cabbies might feel like they’ve been rear-ended. The Taxi and Limousine Commission is poised to raise $8.3 million this year — a whopping 76% increase over the $4.7 million it collected in 2009.

    Some of the extra cash comes from fine hikes, including the Department of Environmental Protection’s penalty for illegal fire hydrant use, which went up from $500 to $750.

    Hordes of ticket fighters pack hearing rooms across the city, pleading to have violations dismissed or fines reduced. Some say they’ve been rapped for petty or made-up offenses.

    “I’ve been in business for 10 years and this is the first time I feel the city is looking for ways to make money,” said Johnny Koljenovic, owner of Locale, an upscale Italian eatery in Long Island City, as he waited to contest nine violations for $2,500 at a Health Department tribunal.

    An inspector ticketed his chef Jesse Davis for not wearing a hat — even though Davis, who trained at the French Culinary Institute, is bald.

    “It’s for stopping hair from falling into the food, but my chef has no hair whatsoever,” said the restaurateur. “The inspector said he should still have a hat, which I found completely absurd.”

    Locale also was summoned for a type of flytrap that a department hearing officer recommended two years ago when Koljenovic was at the tribunal fighting an earlier stack of tickets.

    “I’m a cleaning fanatic,” he said. “I support the department. But this is ridiculous. Each inspector has their own idea about violations. If I have to keep paying nonsense fines, how am I going to survive?”

    The department’s response? The hat is also required to stop cooks from touching their heads, and Locale’s fly summons was because its trap was in a food-storage area.

    Chaos reigns in the rooms and hallways of the Buildings Department headquarters in Manhattan, where homeowners and businesses battle fines that can reach $10,000 apiece.

    Jeff Mongal, an expediter at JRS Construction with four years in the ticket-fighting trenches, said business has never been better.

    The most unfair summons he’s seen was issued a month ago after his company was hired to put up a sign at a fast-food restaurant, Mongal said.

    “We had all the permits. The sign hanger had leave to attend to another job a couple of blocks away and said he’d be back in a few minutes. That’s when the inspector showed up.”

    The result? A $2,000 ticket for putting up a sign without a licensed installer.

    “We weren’t installing it,” Mongal said. “The sign was still in the truck.”

    Parking tickets, which raise more for the city than all other fines combined, also are busting out big.

    They’re on pace to reach an eye-popping $610 million this fiscal year, up from $560 million last year, a 9% increase.

    The city’s Independent Budget Office predicted the mounting wave of fines in a recent study, but found most violations cost more to issue and collect than they raised.

    The report warned that “the push for more fine revenue appears to be under way.”

    “The city’s fiscal situation has led many to look to fine revenue as a potential source of help in filling the city’s budget gap,” the report scolded. “[But] the purpose of enforcement programs is not revenue generation.”


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    19 Comments
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    WB
    WB
    14 years ago

    Tnks mayor bloomy, u r forcing us out of the city,I moved out 2 NJ, and refuse 2 deliver 2 my manhattan customers unless I charge xta 10% so I cqan cover all xtra fees, this is bad for city business, and its gonna hit back big time, but what does bloomy care, he has no clue what the value of a dollar is 2 an average working man!!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Those who voted for Bloomberg, deserve it.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    B”H, I don’t live in NYC! B”H, I don’t live in NYC! B”H, I don’t live in NYC! B”H, I don’t live in NYC! B”H, I don’t live in NYC! B”H, I don’t live in NYC! B”H, I don’t live in NYC! B”H, I don’t live in NYC! B”H, I don’t live in NYC! B”H, I don’t live in NYC!

    yosse nathan
    yosse nathan
    14 years ago

    this is old news , however the problem lies with the judges since with parking tickets and moving violations very few time will you get off not guilty .

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    I moved 100 miles out of the city JUST BECAUSE of this thievery in the cloak of legality by this arrogant SOB – Bloomberg. NO WAY I could survive while he is in office. Guess what… Its sooo much more humane here that I have no intention of EVER going back – EVERRRRRR!!!!!!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Let Bloomberg just be a mentch, he promised to be and raise income taxes, rather than harassing people.

    People should decide on election day if they want to pay that hike or not. These back door taxing is unfair, harassing, and too 10 years for people to realize.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    does anyone have the feeling that bloomy is begging all citizens to double park, etc.!?

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    anybody that ever did business with bloomberg personaly, knows what he’s all about. in the begining of his 2nd term i was in his office a couple of times and spoke to him and his employees alot over the phone, and let me discribe him in a short phrase: “a cheap bassterd, grabs from everyone what and when he can, and when it comes to give back, there’s no one to talk to” – forget about paying bills on time, i gave him a 120 day term and it wasn’t before 11 months and 120 phone calls, emails etc. untill i got a check. mean spirited, nasty attitute, him and all of the guys with him. run for your life as quick as you can. i have since moved out of NYC to the lovely Miami, warm, nice with a big jewish (even some chassidim) community, kosher shops, schools, yeshivas, shuls and all what a jew needs to flurish in a comfortable setting and to raise a jewish family

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Either you have to pay for parking tickets or starve take your pick — why don’t we ask Mayor Mike what we should do?? Starve or pay his tickets !!

    The candidate said
    The candidate said
    14 years ago

    Now you all understand what peopel have been saying all along, when they told you not to vote for the Mayor or anyone who is friendly or endorsed by him.

    The people living in NY should give the Mayor thier wallat and just take out some change.

    Put this together with the Police Department fixing and ignoring crime reports so it should show a reduction in crime, is criminal the Mayor and Com. should be investigated and charged with fraud, filing false reports and perjury.

    For those whe trust teh Mayor and the Police Department, I have a bridge to sell.

    one of them
    one of them
    14 years ago

    im one of the ones that got a ticket!!!!

    bystander
    bystander
    14 years ago

    How is it nobody picked up on this new tactic of the Mayor? He raised the property assessment of the houses so he can charge more real estate tax without increasing the rate, which he did at least 3 times since being in office. Can you imagine when real estate values are falling world wide, banks are short sale’ing because properties are worth much less these days. the mayor and his trained pit bull assessors have the audacity & with a straight face can say “real estate in Boro Park increased by more than 20% this year. check your new bills (not that you can fight city hall) all new candidates for city coucil where are you? not a sound on these issues, are you affraid to antagonize the Mayor… Boro Pk residents there is an election slated for next month have your voice heard support the candidate that does for the individual citizen with no fan fare as opposed to those that do only where it’s going to bring them propoganda. wake up….

    Bystander
    Bystander
    14 years ago

    P.S. Running away from NYC is just sticking your head in the dirt like the ostrich, you ran good for you, what about parents or children or family that can’t run? where is your feeling for your fellow jew? just to say you ran from the city and it’s not your problem doesn’t say much about you… besides, somewhere somtime you will cross paths with the city and then you’ll feel it….

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Move out of NY. This Blumberg doesn’t understand a human being. Where ever he looks he seen a dollar bill. And we stupids voted for him. Run, Run, Run. It will get worst.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Yidden, don’t double park, don’t stop in bus stops, don’t feed into this fine frenzy.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    NYC will be left to the rich and beautiful and poor and ugly.