Transit Sam, May 29, 2013

ALTERNATE SIDE PARKING IS IN EFFECT ALL WEEK Come run or walk with Transit Sam at the American Heart Association Wall Street Run and Walk at 6:45 p.m. Thursday! The race will close streets in the Financial District 5:45 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday evening, including Murray, Greenwich, Warren, Church, Liberty, William, Pearl, South William, Broad, John, Water and State Sts., as well as Battery Pl. and Third Pl. and the Battery Park Esplanade. Downtown streets will be affected as early as 4 p.m. and will remain closed until 8:30 or 9 p.m. The Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit will cause “padlock” in Greenwich Village as it takes over the sidewalks along University Pl. between E. 13th St. and Bobkin Lane all day Saturday and Sunday. A Weekend Walks event in Chinatown will close Mott St. between Canal St. and Chatham Square 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday. The Procession of St. Anthony will parade around the streets of Little Italy 7 p.m. Saturday, beginning at Mulberry St. between Broome and Spring Sts. The Housing Works Open Air Street Fair will close Crosby St. between Houston and Prince Sts. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Leonard St. will close between Church St. and West Broadway 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Monday and Tuesday nights. All lanes of the Manhattan-bound Brooklyn Bridge will close 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday nights. This will drive inbound traffic to the Manhattan Bridge and onto Canal St. On West St./Route 9A, one lane will close in each direction between West Thames and Vesey Sts. 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday, and 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Friday and Saturday. All lanes of the inbound Lincoln Tunnel helix (the spiral approach road to the tunnel) will close 10:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday nights. This means Manhattan-bound traffic will be detoured to the Holland Tunnel and onto Canal St. Cobblestone restoration will close N. Moore St. between Hudson and Greenwich Sts. through mid-July. Duane St. will close between Broadway and Trimble Pl. 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. From the mailbag: Dear Transit Sam, My husband received a parking ticket while he was waiting to pay at the Muni Meter. The Muni Meter was two or three car lengths away from his car, and there was someone else already at the Muni Meter ahead of him. As he was in line to get his receipt, he saw a police officer scan his car to issue a ticket. When he protested, the officer said it was too late, since he’d already scanned the car. The ticket is stamped 2:52 and the receipt is stamped 2:56. There has to be time to get to and from the Muni Meter and the car before a ticket can be issued, right? If so, how long is the official grace period? Pam, Brooklyn Dear Pam, Yes, time is allowed to pay for a receipt and return to the car. However, there isn’t a fixed time, like five minutes. Statute 4-08 (h)(1) of the NYS Vehicle and Traffic Law states that “this provision [of no person parking a vehicle in a parking space regulated by a meter without properly activating the meter] shall not apply to the act of parking or the time necessary to activate the meter immediately.” Your husband has grounds to dispute the ticket since he paid for the receipt as immediately as possible. Tell him to bring his time-stamped receipt and a copy of this column to his hearing. Transit Sam