When I lived in NYC, I would get 3-4 parking tickets a year (usually for alt-side, but sometimes for parking meters and other stuff). I had all but one dismissed when I argued them online.

There's a great book on fighting NYC parking tickets...it lists just about every defense in a entertaining, easy to read format:

Check out [www.beatthatparkingticket.com]

I wonder if this would work for Yonkers, NY. Hmmm.

In my opinion, the whole process is a farce out and out.

You show up to appeal, they automatically offer you a plea bargainesque fine reduction. If you insist on attending a hearing, then you waive the reduced offer if you fight and lose.

Some of the front line guys will do everything to try and discourage you from insisting upon receiving a hearing from a judge. (Right... as if I'll take the parking ticket handed to me with falsified charges sitting down! I might be an idiot, but I'm not a complete idiot!)

Anybody else disturbed that the NYC parking ticket judges are part of Department of Finance? Perhaps there's a possibility of CONFLICT OF INTEREST?

Though it wasn't a parking ticket, I wish I had tried to appeal when my boyfriend and I were each given $50 citations for sitting on the grass in Union Square Park last April. The grass had been reseeded, and we missed the signs in our quest to find a nice place to sit in the sunshine as all of the benches were full. The "cop" who wrote the ticket wasn't in NYPD uniform either, but was some kid wearing a shirt that was referring to his penis size. The ticket itself was however quite official.

I got a ticket in Flatbush a few years ago, and I fought it online, and instantly received a $20 reduction in my ticket.

I've had even better luck in Chicago...by contesting by mail. Just be sure to cite one of the "acceptable" reasons for contesting (e.g. The cited offense did violate a law at the time/place it was alleged to have been committed), and more often than not, it'll just be dismissed. Sometimes they send you a confirmation, other times not. The worst that can happen is that you end up having to pay the original fine.

In Chicago, we can check on the city's web site to see the status of any citations, and it'll indicate that it's pending review, paid, ..., etc.

@azntg: And don't get me started on traffic court. There's no state's attorney, so you argue against the cop. There's no chance of a plea unless you hire a lawyer.

WTF is that about?

I used to do this all the time in NYC. Two alternate side tickets are cheaper than a garage.

I lived in NYC from August, 2005 through April, 2008. One day in July, 2007, my dad called me. He was angry. "Why didn't you TELL me you got a hundred dollar parking ticket?!" he exclaimed.

"When?" I asked, in confusion.

"June!"

"June... this year?"

"Yes!"

"Um. Dad. My car's been parked in your driveway, in Rhode Island, since I drove it back there in May, 2006."

"...not double-parked illegaly on Fordham Road?"

"That's in the Bronx, dad. Even when I did park illegally, it was in Brooklyn. And the car's been in Rhode Island."

"..."

So I haven't trusted a damn city parking ticket since. I mean, honestly. If you're going to MAKE UP offenses, don't do it on a car with Rhode Island plates! The online process works as a way to counter stupid things but you may have to go a couple of rounds sometimes.