Unbeknownst to many of us, the city has been offering a Reduction in Fine for most parking fines since 2005. But according to the NY Times, about 80 percent of us, by city estimates, do not challenge our parking tickets and still simply pay the full fine.
This means if you’ve been caught redhanded, or you’re not prepared to do battle “for honor,” or maybe you just can’t stomach another rejection in your life right now, you can apply for an online reduction. Just launch the Request Hearing For menu at the bottom and after plugging in your Ticket # you will see a reduction amount (if available). Of course, you have to plead guilty to accept the reduced amount, but given the reasonable likelihood that you were illegally parked (not whether it’s fair or not), and recent publicity about pressure applied to PVB judges for guilty verdicts (like we didn’t already know), this might be your best option and then just count that dinner out this evening as practically free.
Note: Larry’s Blog has a little powerpoint presentation to show you the steps. His site also offers other useful information for fighting tickets. 