City Council Hopes to Protect Small Business Owners from 'Ticket Harassment'
NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Organizers of a street fair in Maspeth, Queens were slapped with 128 tickets and $9,600 in fines weeks after the event took place.
Stan Brooks reports
It's called "ticket shock" and members of the City Council are calling for legislation to end the practice.
Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced plans to pass the "Protection Against Ticket Harassment Act" legislation Wednesday.
The "PATH Act" would protect small business owners from excessive ticketing by City agencies and ensure that residents have sufficient notice before being held liable for subsequent tickets.
In the Maspeth case, organizers of the street fair posted 32 signs around the neighborhood to promote the event and weeks later they received a summons for each poster resulting in $9,600 in fines, Quinn says.
Organizers of the fair said they were never told they were breaking the law.
In another case, Councilwoman Tish James says a Clinton Hill pet shop owner was fined $10,000 for signs on business weeks after the city said she was in violation.
"Fines are to get people to follow the rules, not to fill the city's budget deficit," says Quinn.
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