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Parking Boots To Clamp Down On NYC Starting Next Week
By
Garth Johnston
Published Jun 14, 2012
Modified Jun 14, 2012
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Jun 14, 2012
Modified Jun 14, 2012
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Things are about to change for the scofflaw drivers of New York. Das boot is coming! Last year the city announced a pilot program to start booting cars with more than $350 in outstanding fines and now, the Daily News reports, the program is about to start. First the program'll hit Brooklyn before spreading to Queens and Staten Island and then, if everything goes well, the rest of the city. On the plus side? You can take these boots off yourself.
Under the new program (which has some detractors in the city Marshals Association) the boots come out when after it has been verified that a car has more than $350 in judgements. After that boot provider Paylock authorizes its employees to attach the wheel clamp, a.k.a. a boot, to offending cars. Once booted, a driver can call a toll-free number to pay the fees over the phone, at which point they'll get a code to release the lock. Drivers can also pay in cash at designated payment centers around town.
In theory this will take away the hassle of having to go and pick up your towed car...in theory. In practice you will still have to return the boot—and pay a $180 "boot fee," a $70 city fee and a 5% surcharge on the total bill to boot. Oh, and also a fee for paying with a credit card. And also? If your car has been booted for two days you'll not only have to go and pick up the car from the tow yard with all the fees that entails, you'll still have to pay the boot fee!
All those charges, which are arguably unfair to those who can't pay immediately, are part of why the Marshals aren't happy with this development. “There are all kinds of issues associated with it, including leaving a car on the street for as much as two days,” Michael Woloz, a spokesman for the Marshals Association, said. “There’s a lot of questions as to what kind of public benefit it brings.”
The three- to six-month pilot program kicks off on Monday.
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