Issued Parking Ticket While At Beach 116 St. Muni-Meter
By Howard Schwach

At right: Bernard Richman, 89, displays his ticket at The Wave office on Tuesday. He received the citation for not having a receipt in his window despite the fact that he had just parked and was paying the meter while the ticket was given.

Eighty-nine-year-old Bernard Richman was shocked at 3:44 p.m. on Monday when he put his quarter in a Muni-Meter machine on Beach 116 Street and turned back to put the receipt in his car window.

There, in front of his car was a Traffic Enforcement Agent writing him a ticket.

"I left my car and went to pay the meter," he said. "At my age, it took me a minute to get there, but they gave me the ticket in that short time I went to pay the meter."

Richmond's receipt shows that he paid at 3:44 p.m. The $55 ticket written by Traffic Enforcement Agent J. Adison was issued at 3:45 p.m. The explanation on the ticket is "Failure to Display Muni Receipt."

"How can you pay the meter and put the receipt in your window if you can get a ticket while you're doing it," Richman asks.

The senior citizen told The Wave that he went to the agent and showed him the receipt.

The Notice of Parking Violation shows that it was given at 3:45 p.m. on 8/7.

"The agent told me that as long as I was not in my car and there was no receipt on the window, I was eligible for a ticket," he said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Transportation corroborated what the agent said, but added that the agent is supposed to look around to see if anybody is at the nearby machine or coming back to the car prior to issuing the ticket.

"They are trained to use common sense," the spokesperson said.

Richman's receipt shows that it was purchased at 3:44 p.m. The citation left was issued while he was walking back to his car from the Mini-Meter.

Reader Comments

Posted By Joyce C. Scott (8/11/2006 5:16 AM EDT):
Do these agents have to meet a monthly quota? Because the agent can't possibly be that stupid.

Posted By JAMES J. CLEARY (8/11/2006 5:23 AM EDT):
THEY DO HAVE A QUOTA AS DO THE COP'S.

Posted By JOSEPH CAPPUCCIO (8/11/2006 12:41 PM EDT):
This city needs the money, time to suck people dry! Thanks Bloomberg.

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