How To Get Your Money Back If You Were Wrongfully Ticketed At A Pedestrian Ramp

Now that we know that the NYPD has been wrongfully ticketing thousands of legally parked vehicles, raking in millions of dollars in fines, how can drivers get their money back?

Despite the fact that it has been legal since 2009, the NYPD has continued to ticket drivers for parking in front of pedestrian ramps which are not connected to a crosswalk — and the 70th Precinct has led the way, issuing hundreds of tickets tickets worth around $100,000 annually, according to a recent report by I Quant NY.

Here is a step-by-step guide if you believe you were wrongfully ticketed:

• The Department of Finance has said that they will review wrongfully issued pedestrian ramp tickets going back more than one year using the form found here.
• After review, if it is discovered that the driver paid a wrongful ticket, the DOF will issue a refund.
• Drivers must type “Pedestrian Ramp Ticket Issue” in the subject heading and they must have either the relevant summons number or their license plate number to provide so the DOF can accurately search for the ticket in their system.
• If drivers received this type of ticket recently and have yet to dispute it, they are encouraged to dispute the ticket using the form found here.

As we’ve reported, since 2013, more than 1,966 mostly legal spots have generated about $1.7 million a year in tickets, despite a little-known 2009 law change which allowed drivers to legally park in front of pedestrian ramps not connected to a crosswalk.

The findings, compiled by Pratt Institute urban planning professor Ben Wellington, are drawn from New York City’s newly expanded Open Data portal. Wellington examined the parking spots in the city where cars are most frequently ticketed for blocking pedestrian ramps.

When Wellington brought the figures to the NYPD, they admitted to the mistake and vowed reforms.

Councilman Vincent Gentile wants the law enforcement agency to go a step further. Last week, he called on the NYPD’s Chief of Transportation Thomas Chan to have his division conduct a full scale effort “to inform all traffic control commands of the correct parking rules at certain T-intersections and instruct all commanders to educate and inform their rank and file.”