This is a letter we sent to the Commissioner of the NYC Department of Transportation alerting her to the unconscionable and costly double penalties inflicted by booting a car and two hours later towing it to the pound for the same violation (fine for boot and fine for tow).

1. March 14, 2015
Commissioner
NYC Department of Transportation
55 Water Street
New York City, N.Y. 10041
!
Dear Commissioner Trottenberg,
My name is Lawrence Berezin. I am a partner at New York Parking
Ticket LLC, and author of Larry’s Parking Ticket Blog.
Our business is dedicated to fighting unjust NYC parking tickets,
providing valuable information to the NYC driving public about rules
and laws, and advocating about parking issues for the driving public
Joseph and Marlene from Manhattan, and Anna from the
Bronx alerted me to the practice of booting a vehicle, attaching a
warning about an imminent tow, and 2-hours later towing the vehicle.
The price tag for this double hit is:
-Parking ticket fine
-Boot fees
-Towing fees
I had a conversations on Twitter with the Department of Finance and
Department of Transportation. I inquired about basis for the authority
to impose two penalties for the same parking violation.
1newyorkparkingticket.com
NEW YORK PA RK ING TICK ET, L L C .

2. The response from the Department of Finance was a suggestion that I
follow up with the Department of Transportation. The response from
the Department of Transportation was to refer me to the NYC
Administration Code Title 34 (Traffic Rules), Article 4, section 4-08(a)
(9).
This reference triggers more questions than answers:
-Who conceived the 2-hour time period between boot and tow?
-Why boot a vehicle and then tow it with double fines?
-What law is being implemented or facilitated by issuing this rule-
combining a boot and tow for the same parking violation?
Was the intent of the booting law and towing law to penalize a driver
two times with two fines for the same violation?
I appreciate that NYC is a tow away zone, no notice required, and the
need to protect the safety of the public.
What I don’t understand is the justification for immobilizing a car with
a boot, and:
-Allowing a driver just 2-hours to remove the boot
-Failure to comply resulting in towing the vehicle from the same
parking space for the same violation, and double the tow charges
For example, if a driver parked in front of a fire hydrant, the car
jeopardizes public safety. It should be towed immediately. Why
would you immobilize this car with a boot and wait 2 hours before
removing it?
2newyorkparkingticket.com

3. On the other hand, if a driver parks illegally in a no standing zone and
takes public transportation to work, booting the car with a 2-hour
window to remove the boot, is meaningless since the driver cannot
possibly heed the warning. If the car is not a danger to the public,
why impose two fines plus a parking ticket for one violation? 31
Please take action to right this wrong.
Looking forward to your reply.
Respectfully yours,
!
Lawrence Berezin
New York Parking Ticket LLC
3newyorkparkingticket.com