New York, NY – A Bronx-based trucking company shelled out about $450,000 in parking tickets and legal fees last year – part of what some say is the rising cost of doing business in the city.
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“Parking in Manhattan went from bad to ridiculous,” said Paul Rodriguez, who started S.L. Benfica Trucking Co. with his brother Manny 21 years ago. “It’s not even horrible. It’s ridiculous.”
The company’s fleet of 60 tractor-trailers and 20 box trucks was ticketed 1,441 times in 2007. The number of tickets jumped 39% to 2,003 the following year. By 2009, the trucking company’s vehicles were ticketed 2,746 times.
Last year, the number jumped to 7,181. The company – which has about 90 employees – spent about $150,000 last year fighting them.
The data come from a company hired by the trucking company to fight the tickets. The city Department of Finance couldn’t immediately verify the figures.
Finding a legal parking spot in Manhattan long has been a nightmare, and it’s no picnic in the others boroughs, either.
“Now in the outer boroughs, they’re putting bike lanes everywhere,” said Rodriguez, 45, whose company ferries packaged goods around the city. “If you block the bike lane, you get a ticket.”
The top offender last year was United Parcel Service, with 339,993 tickets. FedEx was next with 198,946 tickets.
“We pay millions every year,” said Susan Rosenberg, a UPS spokeswoman. “We’ve tried to find alternatives, but it’s a challenge.”
Officials said it’s legal to double-park, as long as the driver makes an “expeditious attempt” at delivery. Some say parking enforcement agents are simply too overzealous.
“The ticket blitz has become excessive and unreasonable,” said City Councilman James Vacca (D-Bronx).
The NYC Delivery Solutions program allows companies to pay reduced fines in exchange for waiving the right to hearings. They get a 10% to 100% reduction, depending on the type of violation.
Rodriguez won’t participate.
“That program is like paying off the Mafia,” he said. “It’s saying, ‘Here, Mr. Bloomberg, here’s some money so I won’t clog up the courts.'”
“Officials said it’s legal to double-park, as long as the driver makes an “expeditious attempt” at delivery. Some say parking enforcement agents are simply too overzealous.”
My son has claimed for the longest time that the only difference between the mafia and the government is that the government has legalized their mafia tactics. Nothing surprising there!
Ye I never understood it. I walk around the city downtown as see traffic cop ticketing ups and fedex trucks all day. Were exactly wud u like them to put there trucks while they deliver the days packages and mail.
There is no such company as ‘United Parcel Service’ they changed the name to UPS a few years ago.
Actually, UPS in Manhattan has it down to a science. they bring in big trucks and park them anywhere they want – closest to a Fire Hydrant – but not within 15′. They ignore the ticket issuer and let them place a ticket on their windshield for expired meter or “No Standing” etc. That truck doesn’t leave all day. UPS men go back & forth doing deliveries with hand trucks emptying the parked truck. After a couple hours, another UPS truck arrives and parks at the Hydrant with driver at the wheel. All the UPS men doing deliveries jump on & transfer all the packages to the parked (&ticketed;) truck. Price for doing business? 1 parking ticket. Beating the system? Priceless!
very simple solution for ups and fedex. tell the mayor that if the ticketing does not stop, they will stop delivering and picking up in new york city. Can you imagine no UPS or Fedex in the city?
The problem is that the mayor is making a killing so he doesn’t want to stop. Either they stop deliveries or the price continues to rise.
Yeah yeah – there is nothing they are going to do about
Just curios, wouldn’t it be cheaper for UPS/FedEx to add an employee on every busy-neighborhood truck to circle the block with the truck while the other partner delivers the package? Instead of flushing this money on fines for the amount they pay for every single ticket They could pay an 8hr/day employee.