This morning I parked my car in front of Big Top on E Hartsdale Ave for five minutes. I walked into the store to thank the owner of Big Top for their years of service to the community. They are going out of business (landlord rents are high) and I offered to spread the word about their going out of business sales (toys are 25% off). I got what I deserved from parking meter reader E Acosta: a parking ticket for failing to put money in the meter. I learned the following lessons:
1) Always put money in the meter when your car is parked on E Hartsdale Ave. My car was parked in front of the store for only minutes. I confess: I thought I could avoid putting money in the meter since I was just going into the store for a few minutes to say thank you and good luck. Mistake!
2) Meter reader Acosta (the person who signed my ticket) is probably one of the most efficient government employees around. He is hired to patrol the street. Whether you like the meter policy or not, he seems to catch everyone who neglects to put adequate coins in the meter.
3) My car is marked with the PROBLEM SOLVER SIGN on top of it. To Mr. Acosta’s credit – he shows no favoritism and treats every person in the town the same. This is the way government should be run.
4) The parking district does something that made me feel better: The ticket was $15. However – if a ticket is paid within 48 hours the violator gets a 50% discount. I stopped off at the town court and paid the $7.50.
SUGGESTION--- After I received the parking ticket I called the Town Court. I asked if I could pay over the phone by credit card or via the internet. I was disappointed when I heard that I could not. Many courts around the state provide for payment of fines by credit card or via the internet. This would make payments more convenient and could result in more people paying their fines to the town quickly. I will urge the Court to change the policy and to accept credit cards and internet payment. The town has been collecting taxes via credit card and internet for years without problems.
NO TOWN BOARD WORK SESSION NEXT TUESDAY—NEXT TOWN BOARD WORK SESSION ON MAY 26
HAVE FUN THIS WEEKEND. Visit www.rivertownsguide.com if you want to have fun right here in Greenburgh and the surrounding communities. There is a Hastings fire department carnival tonight and tomorrow…a photography exhibit in Tarrytown tonight…the NY Wine and Food Festival in Tarrytown this weekend…a spring fair at the Hastings nursery school…Irvington Town Hall Theater has a great family show: THE WIZ, the Ardsley Historical Society has an event this Sunday. And---SHADFEST in Croton on Sunday.
PAUL FEINER
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42 comments:
Oh joy you got a parking ticket. Now why don't you rob a bank and experience getting arrested.
Dear Oh Waht fun,
He has alreday robbed the bank. We're all just waiting for the authorities to catch up with him.
I wouldn't be sleeping all that well at night these days if I were in "his" shoes.
Paul - In the first place, why do you think you have the right to park on Hartsdale Ave without putting money in the meter?
we dont care!!!!!!!!!!
No credit card payments, no internet payments or tel. payments at Greenburgh Court.
Paul,
where is the website for Greenburgh Court. Tried looking up the departments and services at the Court House.
What are the court hours?
How do I plea guilty to a ticket?
Many courts have a web-site.
Where is Greenburgh Court?
Paul, how about focusing on the $2.7 million in unpaid parking tickets that you allowed to accumulate under your administration? And real answers, not this past week's "legislation' which is too little, too late.
Paul I do not agree with you that this meter reader does not play favoritism I know for a fact a blue Toyota truck with partial license plate CAS parks in front of 80 East Hartsdale Avenue all days including Saturdays for long periods of time and never gets a ticket. The person never puts money in the meter and I know he is a retired NYC police officer.If you ask me favoritism and nepotism is alive and well on East Hartsdale Avenue.I also know the meter man has been around as many other vehicles have tickets on their cars.
Mr. Feiner,
Not all parking meter tickets are 50 percent off if paid within 48 hours.
Check with Hartsdale parking.
Problem solver ? More like problem maker!
high rent because of high taxes
Why don't you praise your CSEA workers and give them a raise.
To 7:43PM 5/16/09 Just to let you know that favoritsim hit again today, Saturday. This morning the town painted new white lines at the meter spots on East Hartsdale Avenue and the Blue Toyota truck With partial license plate # CAS was parked outside since the night before Till 11AM Saturday with no ticket. Other cars had tickets.This meter reader is playing favoritism and must know the owner of this vehicle is a retired NYC police officer.Paul care to comment and maybe bring this issue to the Greemburgh PD or the Hartsdale Parking District?
the meter reader was told to leave the Toyota alone
cash for parking
To 1:26PM Why is the Toyota so special? How do you know this to be true.Everyone should pay for parking on EHA . Even the handicapped have to pay at the speical meters.
there is alot of favoritsim in this town I seen it for many years thank god I dont work here any more!!
The supervisor is hard at work trying to take control of the parking district - it's the only agency he hasn't gotten his little hands on. It's the only agency with clean annual audits and no controversy with regard to honesty & integrity & transparency. They have more financial review than any other agency in the Town.
All of his departments have been cited for poor internal controls and a lack of paper trail with regard to income and receipts. Sure, let's give him another agency to corrupt. There's a reason the district was created to be separate from the Town nearly 60years ago. Some may like their policies with regard to strict application process to protect those who live in the unincorporated area and some may not; it works for the majority.
The Town isn't addressing the 24-hour parking needs of the avenue residents - they keep blaming the district yet the district is not responsible for this as it is a taxpayer, private property owner issue and the district is not tax subsidized. The Town needs to do something to come up with land or resources and if they choose to have the district run it that could be considered although it would be best to keep it a private property/taxpayer entity. They're not owning up to this responsibility - they're just makin the district look bad so they can take control.
The commuter fees the district charges are the lowest in the area - Scarsdale just went to $1125 per year at their Christie Place garage (a garage they didn't pay for, they were granted the parking by Ginsburg Development) - the Hartsdale Pkg Distr. charges $725 per year. White Plains is nearly $900. The district must be doing something right. Why would anyone want the Town to take control and co-mingle funds; make up tax increases by raising parking fees which is what every municipality has been doing...not a good idea!
All the parking violations go to the Town and only the Town benefits from them. Feiner forgets to mention that.
Overnighth parking tickets can only be issued by the Greenburgh Police - the Parking Enforcement officer comes on duty at 8:15 a.m. - after this truck has been parked all night without being issued a ticket by the police department. This is not a parking district issue - its a police/town issue.
Speaking of overnight parking tickets, the trailer is back on sprain valley road and has been so since friday night with no tickets! That means that not a single police patrol car ventured into that neighborhood all weekend. Thanks alot Paul and Chief Kapica for the concern you have for Edgemont residents.
You never put money in the meters, not here or in any other municipality. Guess you think your pizza deilvery-like sign is a free pass.
That's really great when a Town Supervisor admits that he thought he could get away with no putting money in the meter.
Greenburgh Police are responsible for overnight enforcement. If someone is parked in a no parking zone during the overnight the GPD is responsible for giving the tickets.
Wow, you actually admit that you went into Big Top to pick their bones. Did you shop there when they were full price?
Can you do anything about school taxes and fire district taxes? We're not taxed by the parking district so why are you concentrating on them? My school and fire district taxes nearly doubled in the 15 years I've been a resident. My Town taxes have nearly tripled.
I shopped at big top with my daughter alot.
Did you put money in the meters when you did or did you park illegally in my parking space behind 221 EHA?
The trailer is back on Sprain Valley r.
It has been there for three nights already
It's astonishing that Town Officials know the exact amount of uncollected parking/traffic fines yet they don't know (according to numerous audits) what happened to fines/bail bonds, etc. that were collected. Yes, we should all be scratching our heads!
We will never know where the money went unless we get a good State investigation.
The town has the best reputation of making money disappear.
If you remember the sewer guy was given documentation of only $70.000.00 that was not accounted for .
The last Court audit left the auditors dumbfounded...they gave the court the worst possible rating - a rating that indicated the records were so bad even they couldn't figure it out. Has the Town done anything, of course not.
If the court records are in such a mess Bennett Kielsen and the independent Albany auditing firm waved the white flag, how do you know whether some or many of those $2.8 million dollars in fines, and interest are not paid and the records are lost? If two separate auditing/accounting companies can't figure it out don't you think you should rethink your towing legislation until you're on more solid footing?
On the surface it sounds easy.Tow all cars with "x" amount of traffic fines, or number of unpaid tickets. The question is unpaid by whose records? Especially the court's records which are labeled unreconcilable from two sources as well as the police Chief who investigated the court.
Forewarned is forearmed. We already have too many law suits.
If the chief investigated thecourt and found problems with their handling of money, why hasn't that report been released? Isn't that public information?
Now, when you're thinking of passing a law that is dependent on the accuracy of the court's records and those records are less than pristine, let us all in on the police report.
Why the coverup?
No one said the police investigated the court. The court has been audited by both the State and two independent auditing firms who seem to be unable to follow a money trail. I believe at one time they were actually taken over by the State for a short time but that was to no avail. That being said, the Town should be damn sure their records are correct before they start towing people. Maybe they should concentrate on straightening out their internal controls. The Town spends a lot of money on bookshelf studies - maybe they should invest some funds and hire a firm to undertake a forensic audit which is quite more intense than a regular financial audit with the goal of same being to uncover fraud/illegal actions.
Dear Anonymous 5/19 2:39PM:
Please listen very carefully to what the Chief said at the public hearing last Wednesday.
From his second appearance at the mike:
"The Court's records are screwed up. I agree. We investigated the Court. I know about, first hand, about how mismanaged some of the money was in that Court."
Either listen or obtain a copy of the transcript. It comes after the initial round of comments from the public.
I think he has to be clearer about what type and to what degree they "investigated" and when it was done...that may have been over a decade ago.
Getting back to the $70,000.00 that was proven to be missing from the hookup fees, this may be the tip of the iceberg.
It seems that the town officials want to squash this in the worse way.
Could it be that they know where the money was channeled to and are afraid to reveal their findings.
Too bad Kolesar was fired he would have told us right off the get go
where this money went and what else is missing.
Paul you cannot conduct this kind of business and try to say that we do have an open government.
You know that these funds were collected because the sewer guy did present you all with the documentation but up to today we have not been shown as to where this money went.
How about coming clean . The truth will be known sooner or later.
coverups lead to one loosing their job.
Twice on this blog comments were made about a trailer being parked on Sprain valley rd.
This is a residential street where taxes are being paid for police protection.
This just go to show us that the police are boycotting these roadways .
They should be driving thru at least once a night but as one can see that they have not driven thru for one week so the comments go.
Paul why are you allowing the police to skip the Edgemont areas.
Do we all have to start removing part of the taxes paid for services which we do not get ?????
This will be coming soon.
Dear Anonymous 5/20 7:13 AM:
The "investigation" occurred in the 2002 - 2004 time frame or consistent with the period audited by Bollam Sheedy and on which they disclaimed an opinion because the records were so poorly maintained. But why don't you get the Town to release the report, especially if no "criminality" was determined?
I think they need to go beyond the court - the Town Supervisor and Town Board have known about problems with the court's record keeping and missing funds - they've chosen to ignore it and do nothing about it. They are accessories to the crimes and should be treated as such. They knowingly allowed this to continue even though one Judge brought it to their attention and rather than work with her they tried to have her voted out of office. They did the same with Comptroller Kollesar - he blew the whistle and got fired!
Right on the town cannot take the fifth on any court comments because they were told many times over and over again that there was something crooked going on in that department.
Keep quiet is there motto and you will have a job.
See what happened to Kolesar he was going to tell us the residents about the mishandling of records which leads to the mishandling of funds.BUT he was showed the door.
So the police chief investigated the court so what has been done to correct what has been going on. NOTHING.
The judge still sits on cases as if she knows what she is doing. Everyone receives the same amount of fine [which is thought of before the court sessions start].
Today the fines will be so much money and nothing less.
Give me a break.
The clerk is still receiving a pay check so tell me what has been done. NADA.
They were told many moons ago that there was something criminal going on but because no one wants to take the first step to incriminate a Greenburgh judge and her clerk this will go on and on.
The court had the same auditors as the town to audit their books and found nothing wrong. Boy that's the reason why we are in bad shape.
They found nothing wrong with the court or the town.
This is the reason that Feiner keeps these auditors arround because they never find mistakes.
Poor Kolesar found so many mistakes throughout the town departments that finally did him in.
Does Greenburgh Court have a Website?
How does a person get information on paying a traffic ticket.
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