The View from the West Hill: A Parking Ticket Story

August 1998 - Our childhood friend Greg marries a German-raised Korean girl in NYC. Unable to attend, I send my brother, in my car to represent. He parks the car "somewhere in Times Square" and gets a parking ticket. When he returns to Ohio, we decide NOT to pay the ticket unless they ask again, nicely.

October 1997 - I receive a notice from the NYC Bureau of Parking Violations asking, not so nicely, that I pay the ticket AND the late fee. I mail the notice and a handwritten note "pay this, you bastard" to my brother in South Dakota.

November 1998 - My brother sends the money to the NYC Bureau of Parking Violations to cover the ticket and late fee.

January 1999 - I receive another notice from the NYC Bureau of Parking Violations indicating that although I have paid the ticket and first late fee, there is another late fee. I write an impassioned letter to the Bureau explaining the situation; they send back another notice saying that I still owe the late fee, and because of the delay, there is another late fee.

February 1999 - My brother calls the Bureau and explains that he has paid the ticket and late fee, and asks what he has to pay at this point. He sends another check, with the assurance that this will be the end of it.

August 2001 - I "sell" the previously mentioned car to a junk dealer that I never meet in person. He tows the car away, but fails to return for the title or to give me my $15. His phone number is disconnected.

June 2003 - My wife's attorney sends me a proposed divorce settlement. In a list of other debts I'm expected to pay, I notice "NYC Bureau of Parking Violations - $48.01."

(This story saw better days on uber.)

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