What a ‘fine’ advantage!
Major delivery companies will pay less for parking violations
Major delivery companies like Amazon and UPS that clog New York’s streets with trucks will pay less for parking in bus lanes and “no standing” zones under new rules that go into effect in May, according to a new policy announced Monday by the city Finance Department.
The changes come by way of an update to the city’s Stipulated Parking Fine Program, which since 2001 has granted major deliverers big discounts to parking tickets in exchange for an agreement that the companies do not contest the violations in court.
Companies enrolled in the program have since December 2018 enjoyed a $15 discount on $115 fines issued for vehicles that park in bus lanes. But when the changes go into effect on May 2, the discount will increase to $35, and they’ll pay just $80 for blocking the lanes.
“Blocked bus lanes delay riders and hamper the city’s first responders,” said Danny Pearlstein, a spokesman for the advocacy group Riders Alliance. “The stipulated fine should be calibrated to discourage businesses from making money off other people’s wasted time.”
City officials also announced everyday New Yorkers can once again appeal their parking tickets in administrative court starting May 2. The hearings were shut down during the pandemic, much to the chagrin of smaller delivery companies not enrolled in the program.
Large companies that qualify for the discounts will still be subject to $50 bus lane fines enforced by automated cameras on city streets and on the fronts of some Metropolitan Transportation Authority buses. The $15 discounts on $115 tickets for parking in bus stops issued to companies in the program will go unchanged.
Discounts will also be increased for one of the city’s biggest parking violations: No standing in zones where signs prohibit parking. Delivery companies enrolled in the program have since 2018 paid $100 for the violation. They’ll get an extra $10 discount in May and pay only $90.
The companies get an even bigger discount for parking in taxi stands. They currently pay $100 for the $115 tickets. Come May they will pay just $60.
Transportation advocate Charles Komanoff said the changes “seem nonsensical. It’s lining the pockets of these companies instead of enhancing essential city services.
“It’s not as if these companies are going to pack up and move to Westchester or South Carolina or something. They’re captive. Why we are giving them a break, and not a small one, is beyond me.”
The changes also bring some increases to the fines the companies will pay. The city will no longer provide any discount to $115 tickets for parking in bike lanes. And the fine for double parking under the program will increase to $65 from $35, which is still a 43% discount from the $115 fine regular New Yorkers pay for the violation.
A City Council bill introduced in 2018 by former Councilman and current city Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez aimed to abolish the Stipulated Parking Fine Program. The legislation was never voted on by the full Council.
The Finance Department did not announce or explain the policy change in a press release. Instead, the department sent emails to the program’s participants and provided those notifications to the Daily News.
Hundreds of companies are enrolled in the program. A 2019 report from the city Independent Budget Office found 10 companies with the most discounted parking fines combined to receive more than $20 million worth of discounts in 2018.