On February 5, 2023, I drafted yet another response, to which I attached copies of the ticket, the Vehicle Inspection Report, the DOF’s acknowledgement of receipt of my online plea, the Notice of Open Violation, and my January 8th response. I rechecked my email there was no decision or any other communication from the DOF. On February 1, 2023, I received, not a decision on my challenge to the ticket, but a letter dated January 30, 2023, informing me that “a hearing was held on 10-27-22,” where I was “found guilty,” and, as “no application for an appeal had been submitted within the time allotted,” payment of the $65 fine was due immediately. I still had not received a decision on my “not guilty” plea. I eventually received an acknowledgement of receipt of my letter and documents. I attached copies of the DOF acknowledgement of receipt of my not guilty plea, my Vehicle Inspection Report, and the original ticket, all of which I sent Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested. I responded in a letter dated January 8, 2023, that I had, in fact, responded to the ticket online on October 15, 2022. You must pay in full or DISPUTE THE VIOLATIONS.” The “due date” stated in the Notice of Open Violation was January 30, 2023. Instead, on January 7, 2023, I received a “Notice of Open Violation,” dated January 4, 2023, which accused in bold letters, “ You have not responded to the violation(s) issued to a vehicle registered in your name. I waited for the decision, checking my email and my snail mail every day. The DOF confirmed online that it had received my plea and evidence. I pleaded “not guilty” on the website of the Department of Finance (DOF), which is the agency that processes parking tickets, and uploaded a copy of the Vehicle Inspection Report, which confirmed the issuance, in November 2021, of a valid inspection sticker by a registered and certified vehicle inspection station. On October 15, 2022, began my Kafkaesque journey through the obtuse, irrational process of challenging a parking ticket. I would have no reason – or ability - to find or fabricate a counterfeit inspection sticker.
Section 4-08(j)(7) prohibits the display of an inspection sticker that is “mutilated, imitation, or counterfeit.” The charge was preposterous. The Parking ticket stuck on the windshield of my car - parked on the “good side” across the street from my home on West 87th Street - charged me with displaying a “counterfeit” inspection sticker in violation of §4-08(j)(7) of the NYC Traffic Rules. Ann O’Shea is a journalist, lawyer, retired New York State judge, and 50-plus-year resident of the Upper West Side.
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