Friday, April 18, 2008

Parking Tix = Hidden Tax

Why does everything cost so much more in Manhattan than on Staten Island? Or any of the other three outer boroughs of NYC, Queens, Bronx, Brooklyn.

Of course, there are many factors that go into the final retail price. Rent, labor, tolls, taxes, advertising, & etc. But I want to, using one specific consumer item, guess-timate how much parking tickets, as a cost of doing business in Manhattan, adds to the cost of that consumer item. In Manhattan.

I have selected the ubiquitous plastic bottle of Coke. The price where I am in Manhattan is $1.50 for a 20 oz. bottle of Coke. Sold by vending machines where I work my day job. Of course, the price may be higher or lower where you are in Manhattan.

For example, how much more does it cost in Manhattan vs. Staten Island?

On Staten Island, one of the Super Stop and Shops is running a special this week on six-packs of 16.9 oz. Coke bottles. Buy 3 six-packs for $9. Which translates into 50 cents per bottle. A huge savings for Staten Island shoppers. 50 cents per 16.9 oz. Coke on S.I. vs. $1.50 per 20 oz. Coke in Manhattan.

So, for $1.50 on S.I., you can get three 16.9 oz. Cokes. For $1.50 in Manhattan, you get a 20 oz. Coke.

Can you imagine how much more it would be with Mayor Mike's stupid conge$t tax? $1.75 or $2 for a 20 oz. Coke. Maybe more depending on where you are in Manhattan.

With numbers two Coke delivery truck drivers gave me, lets do some calculating.

But, please, note that I am here doing mostly guess-timates. I am not claiming my numbers are definitive in any way. I may be short or over by several cents. Please, take my guess-timates with a grain of salt. Thank you.

Let us assume that one Coke delivery truck in one day, making deliveries in Manhattan, is issued 3 double-parking tickets. One double-parking ticket costs $115.

So, that's $115 x 3 = $345/Coke truck/day. For each Coke truck, each day on average, it collects $345 worth of parking tickets.

How much does that work out for each 20 oz. Coke bottle? One Coke delivery truck delivers on average 60 cases in one day in Manhattan.

One case = 24 bottles of 20 oz. Coke. So, 1 Coke truck x 60 cases x 24 bottles = 1,440 bottles.

Now, lets divide the total of the tickets collected by one Coke truck by the total number of Coke bottles that it delivered in the same day it collected its tickets.

Tickets $345 / Bottles 1,440 = 24 cents/bottle/day. So, for each 20 oz. Coke bottle, it's share of the tickets is 24 cents.

But. Of your $1.50 for that 20 oz. Coke you bought in Manhattan, 24 cents does not go toward paying parking tickets. In reality, about a nickel (5 cents) out of the $1.50 goes to pay off parking tickets.

One of the two Coke delivery truck drivers I had talked to said that last year the company's trucks were issued $2.2 million total in parking tickets. However, the company has a full-time parking ticket fighter who goes to court and fights and fights and fights. As a result, $2.2 million was reduced to $500,000 in actual fines paid.

So, you're paying for their full-time tix fighter and their reduced fines. $500,000 + full-time salary = $550,000 maybe. Which roughly translates into a nickel a Coke bottle.

Of course, for you, a nickel a bottle isn't a lot of money. However. If you add up all the products and services you consume in Manhattan, then all those nickels and dimes add up to maybe $50 or up to a $100 per year. Staying in the conservative ballpark.

That's a hidden tax you pay to play in Manhattan. For the other four boroughs, your hidden tax is smaller. Of course. Maybe $25 or up to $50 a year. Staying in the conservative ballpark.

$25 a year or up to $100

If we look at that nickel per Coke bottle from the delivery truck drivers point of view. Then the parking tickets are a big deal. Because the company used the expense of all the parking tickets as a reason to limit their wage increase in their last contract.

One of the Coke delivery guys I talked told me that last year their parking tickets totaled $2 million. Which their full-time parking ticket fighter reduced to $500,000 last year.

As a result of all the parking tickets the company had to fight and the reduced tix it ended up paying, the Coke delivery guys' pay increase was a tiny 1.1% in their last contract negotiations.

Their current contract, the Coke delivery guys are not happy campers, to say the least.

What I find really disturbing is the "We can't do anything about it" attitude that one of the Coke delivery guys espoused. That made me really sad. The NYC Dept. of Fraud and their thugs essentially stole their pay raise. And, while the Coke delivery guys were, of course, angry about it, they felt helpless to do anything about it.

I thought I lived in America. What happened to life, liberty, and the American way?

Conge$t Tax in the News - Update

April 19, 2008, NY1 News:
"Congestion Pricing May Have A Comeback"

April 19, 2008, NY Post:
"CONGE$TION SCHEME IN THE SHOP"
by Patrick Gallahue

PTF: "Looks like a sequel for Mayor Mike's conge$t tax scam is in the works."

April 18, 2008, WNYC New York Public Radio:
"Congestion Pricing Not Dead, City Says"
by Matthew Schuerman

April 18, 2008, NY Post:
"NYERS CHEER CONGEST-FEE NIX"
by Fredric U. Dicker
Complete Article: New Yorkers are glad that Mayor Bloomberg's $8 congestion fee is dead, a Quinnipiac poll yesterday showed.
Fifty-six percent of suburban voters, 59 percent of city voters - who would have borne much of the brunt of the proposed $8-a-vehicle tax to enter lower Manhattan - and 47 percent of upstate voters opposed the plan.Just 32 percent of all voters, and only 36 percent of city and suburban voters, expressed regret that Bloomberg's plan had been killed last week.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Bogus Parking Ticket Vanishes Mysteriously

An update of my previous post, "Bogus Parking Ticket: Coincidence or Reprisal?" Published on Tue., April 8, 2008.

To recap, about March 17, 2008, started a war of words with the NYC Dept. of Fraud (a.k.a. the Dept. of Finance), trying to help three victims of bogus parking tickets.

Fri., April 4, 2008. After a routine online check for bogus parking tickets issued to my NY plate # DUP1713. I found a bogus summons issued to my plate #, in Brooklyn, on Mon., March 24, 2008.

Summons #: 1155516485
Issued on: Mon., March 24, 2008; 03:08, am or pm?
Location: At the intersection of W/S Liberty Brooklyn
Code Violation: 21, no parking-street cleaning
Fine: $45
Vehicle Description: 2003 Lexus sedan, color: empty

But my NYS vehicle registration states DUP1713 is a 2006 Honda Pilot, suburban, blue. I wish my NY plate # DUP1713 was a Lexus. I'd be happy with even a 2003 Lexus. Although the Honda Pilot is a good choice.

Mon., April 7, 2008. Filed a hearing-by-Web defense. And e-mailed the NYC DOF.
"What's up fools? What's with the bogus tix? You're all a bunch thieves. Is this payback? Go to hell! A-holes. I don't back down. Long live the fighters! " No, I didn't say that.

Sat., April 12, 2008. After an online check of my hearing status, the NYC DOF's system tells me: "No unpaid parking violations were found for the plate number you have entered. ... " The Dept. of Fraud dismissed my bogus parking ticket ASAP. But without any explanation whatsoever.

Of course, I had printed out a copy of the handwritten summons and the tix details page. For my own records. Just in case the Dept. of Fraud decided to "lose" the evidence. Dismiss the fake tix like it never existed. "What tix? We don't know nothing about no stinking tix."

I want answers. Who issued the ticket? Was it an incredible coincidence? Or was it retaliation? Given all the missing information on the ticket, why was it entered into the NYC DOF's system?

Friday, April 11, 2008

Conge$t Tax in the News - Update

In on particular order, whatsoever.

April 12, 2008, NY1 News:
"Port Authority Toll Hike Helps Decrease Weekly Traffic"

PTF: "You don't need no stupid conge$t tax scam plan. Toll hikes alone will decrease traffic congestion into the CBD (Central Business District). You don't need a system of cameras and another layer of bureaucracy in Manhattan."

April 10, 2008, NY Daily News:
"Keep Congest Plan Alive, Says Fed Big"
by Pete Donohue, Daily News Staff Writer

PTF: "Can you say, 'Federal conspiracy?'"

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Parking Tix in the News - Update

First, I want to give a shout out to "jj" and "monitor lcd" who were both kind enough to post positive comments about my blog on my blog. Thank you, "jj" and "monitor lcd."

In no particular order, whatsoever.

April 10, 2008, NY Daily News:
"Politicians Fear Congestion Backlash"
by Lisa L. Colangelo, Daily News Staff Writer

April 9, 2008, Staten Island Advance:
"With Toll-Plan Defeat, Mayor Losing Grip on Relevance"
by Sally Goldenberg

April 9, 2008, NY Post:
"'PARK' SHARK BUST"
by Murray Weiss and Philip Messing

Mar. 25, 2008, Fox 5 News:
"Fox 5 Investigates: Ticket Dumping, Part 2"
by John Deutzman

Mar. 25, 2008, Fox 5 News:
"Fox 5 Investigates: Ticket Dumping, Part 1"
by John Deutzman

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Bogus Parking Ticket: Coincidence or Reprisal?

Since about March 17, 2008, I've been fighting a war of words with the NYC Dept. of Fraud (a.k.a. the NYC Dept. of Finance). Helping three victims of bogus parking tickets all issued in Queens by the infamous T-405 command.

After they were found guilty, I demanded copies of the their hearing records. I gave the NYC DOF ample time to provide them to me. Result: Empty mailbox. I just kept getting the old run-around. Then I filed two complaints against the NYC DOF with the NYC Dept. of Investigation. For violating the NYS Freedom of Information Law.

Mayor Mike and Slush Fund Queen Quinn claims we have a more transparent and open city government. Yeah, right, we do. I think both are on crack.

Last Fri., April 4, 2008, while doing a routine check for parking tickets issued to my Honda Pilot (NY plate # DUP1713), I found an obviously bogus ticket issued to my Honda.

After having been issued a bogus ticket in Dec. 2006 that I only learned about when I got the late notice with a $10 late penalty. I do at least a once a week check online for bogus tickets issued to my NY plate # DUP1713. The school of hard knocks taught me to practice defensive parking ticket fighting.

The fake summons was issued on March 24, 2008, in Brooklyn. For allegedly violating code 21 ( no parking-street cleaning), I was fined $45. The vehicle described on the summons was a 2003 Lexus sedan. I wish. The reality, according to my NYS vehicle reg., is that my "2003 Lexus sedan" is a 2006 Honda Pilot suburban. Maybe in the future, I'll drive a Lexus.

My first thought was that this is an incredible coincidence. But maybe this is retaliation? A message from the NYC Dept. of Fraud to back off. To stop my independent investigation of their "official misconduct."

If it is a reprisal, then it didn't work. Because I'm a fighter. Long live the fighters!

Friday, April 4, 2008

Conge$t Tax in the News - Update

In no specific order, whatever seems to make sense to me.

April 5, 2008, NY Daily News:
"Changes May Be Needed for Traffic Plan"
by Adam Lisberg, Daily News City Hall Bureau

April 5, 2008, WCBS-TV:
"Albany Democrats Oppose Congestion Pricing"

April 4, 2008, NY1 News:
"Clock Ticks On Congestion Pricing"

PTF: "Die conge$t tax! Die, die a horrible death. Conge$t tax plan, be no more."

April 3, 2008, NY1 News:
"Last-Minute Deal Could Revive Congestion Pricing Before Deadline"

April 3, 2008, NY1 News:
"State Assembly Debates Congestion Pricing"

April 3, 2008, NY1 News:
"S.I. Commuters Concerned About Congestion Pricing"

PTF: "I drive on Staten Island. Commute to Manhattan on mass transit. On Sun., drive to church in Queens. I'll only drive into Manhattan when I only must have to. However, I'm concerned about Mayor Mike's conge$t tax plan. Because it'll adversely effect all NYC-residents. Even those who don't ever have to drive into Manhattan. And, if you don't think it'll effect you, then you must be on crack like Mike."

April 2, 2008, NY1 News:
"Fate Of Congestion Pricing Still Hangs In The Balance"

April 2, 2008, NY1 News:
"All Eyes On Silver Who Holds Key To Congestion Pricing"
by Rita Nissan

April 1, 2008, NY1 News:
"Congestion Pricing Plan Heads To Albany"