Parking around the city can be so difficult to find, some drivers are willing to wedge their vehicles into the tightest and stupidest of spaces. So after going through the parking shuffle and stressing out over the legitimacy of a spot, there's nothing more frustrating then returning to your car to find it's not there anymore. A Brooklyn man claims that's what happened to him last week in South Williamsburg—and he blames the NYPD for putting up parking signs in the neighborhood while he was gone. "I'm very mad," Moebius Simmons told us. "I'm also very broke. I feel this is a betrayal of the public trust."
Simmons, a freelance filmmaker, says he parked his SUV at South 6th Street at Dunham Place around 10 a.m. on Thursday. "When I parked, there weren't ANY parking restriction signs on the block," he said. "However, when I came outside, four hours later, my vehicle was gone."
In the intervening hours while he was at work, he said the NYPD erected "No Parking" signs on the block where he was parked. When he came out around 2:45 p.m., his car had been towed to the Brooklyn Navy Yard. It cost him $200 to get the car back, and there was another $60 tickets on the windshield.
Moebius Simmons
Reviewing Google Maps, you can see that there were parking restriction signs on the block as of January 2013, so the signs were likely being replaced on the block, rather than added anew. But it's unclear what the NYPD's policy is in these special circumstances.
"I'm told that while it will be possible for me to appeal the $60 parking ticket, there will be little to no way for me to recover the $200 I paid to be towed," he said. "I'm struggling to pay rent. Behind on my bills. $200 is a very major hit to me right now. My checking account is in the red because of it."
Simmons added that he has been towed before, but he felt those were legitimate mistakes on his part, unlike this incident: "I NEVER dreamed I would have to worry about parking signs being erected mere hours after I parked."
A DOT spokesperson said that they are investigating the issue, and recommended that if this ever happens to you, you can FOIL for official records on the posting of regulations to be used in challenging a ticket.
The NYPD did not respond to inquiries about whether there is any grace period when new signs are installed, nor whether the laws are suspended if a sign is missing/being replaced.
