Towed in NYC Public Street

[ramz28]

My question involves a traffic citation from the state of: NYC

My truck was towed early Monday morning. I had no idea why, so i called the police and they said it was abbandoned. I didnt park in an illegal space or have tickets. I have plate,reg and insurance. I drive the truck all the time. the police told me the vehicle was reported abbandoned by serveral neighbors, but they were only able to show me 1 report of it being reported. The resolution on the report states " police have responded and no action is needed" but my truck was still towed. I had to pay $200 for towing and miss a day of work for this. I asked the officer who had the vehicle towed why this happend, he said" the vehicle is considered abandoned after 96hrs of not moving." I have moved my truck within 96hrs becuase of alternate side parking and to just drive my tuck. I want to get reimbursed for the tow fees and to not have this happen again. Who do I contact about a refund? or do i have to sue NYPD fo towing the vehicle when it shouldn't have been towed? any help would be greatly apreciated THANKS!!

[SChinFChin]

My question involves a traffic citation from the state of: NYC

My truck was towed early Monday morning. I had no idea why, so i called the police and they said it was abbandoned. I didnt park in an illegal space or have tickets. I have plate,reg and insurance. I drive the truck all the time. the police told me the vehicle was reported abbandoned by serveral neighbors, but they were only able to show me 1 report of it being reported. The resolution on the report states " police have responded and no action is needed" but my truck was still towed. I had to pay $200 for towing and miss a day of work for this. I asked the officer who had the vehicle towed why this happend, he said" the vehicle is considered abandoned after 96hrs of not moving." I have moved my truck within 96hrs becuase of alternate side parking and to just drive my tuck. I want to get reimbursed for the tow fees and to not have this happen again. Who do I contact about a refund? or do i have to sue NYPD fo towing the vehicle when it shouldn't have been towed? any help would be greatly apreciated THANKS!!

I live in NYC. Is this a commercial vehicle, meaning it has the name of the company on it?? And if so, was it parked in a non-commercial zone from 9:00PM to 4AM in the morning?? I understand if this is the case, then, such vehicles can be ticketed or towed from a PUBLIC street.

On my residential street, it started with one church van, then another church van, and finally a few months ago, 3 church vans, one school bus, and one full sized commercial bus for taking MRI's were parked on my street, so I called my councilman saying neighbors got no place to park, who told me to call 311 after 9PM if the trucks are still there, and the police would be dispatched. I waited till 9:05, the vehicles were still there, and I called "311". I checked the internet on NYC parking regulations, and such vehicles are indeed not allowed on the streets after 9:00PM, up through 4:00AM. I don't exactly know what the police did, but for several weeks after I called, none of the church vans were there, and the school bus was moved some blocks away, and the MRI bus was gone too. The school bus was parked in the same spot for 3 long weeks, and in fact had no name of the company on it, but apparently, the police got after it also. I told the police it's a commercial vehicle on a residential street at night, not that it's abandoned.

Also around where I work in Elmhurst, Queens, there was an uproar over large and small trucks and small commercial vehicles parked on residential streets at night after 9:00PM, and the neighborhood association had gone to the local precinct to have these vehicles towed, nothing happened, so I read in the local paper that they gone downtown directly to the police commissioner demanding to know why nothing was done. I owned a rental in a town in LI, NY, and if the vehicle is not a passenger car, it's not even allowed in a residential driveway at night. A neighbor of my tenant called me to say they'll report me to the town if I don't get after the tenant, and have the vehicle moved. At the time, I had no idea it was against the law.

My guess is that it could be an irate citizen like me calling, or a neighborhood association pestering the police commissioner that got some action.

[ramz28]

WOW sounds like u live on my block, there is no parking usualy becuase of trucks and buses and taxis, but my truck is NOT commerical. I have never seen any of them get towed. I have tow trucks even parking there.

[SChinFChin]

WOW sounds like u live on my block, there is no parking usualy becuase of trucks and buses and taxis, but my truck is NOT commerical. I have never seen any of them get towed. I have tow trucks even parking there.

If that's the case, then you probably got an irate citizen like me calling, and then the police sees a truck, yours, and then tows it. If it's a residential street, taxis, buses, tow trucks are not allowed to park there at night after 9:00PM. Only passenger vehicles. I confirmed that with my councilman's office.

[ramz28]

thats what i figured but not sure how to go about getting reimbursed for this. do i have to go to small claims court?

[SChinFChin]

thats what i figured but not sure how to go about getting reimbursed for this. do i have to go to small claims court?

Here's a page from the NYC Finance Dept website (see tow refund):

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/par..._refunds.shtml

Your proof is there is alternate side parking, and you received no tickets, submit it by mail or on-line, and see what happens.

In the past, I found my councilman's office to be helpful, particularly if you call to find out what you should do. However, with "term limits", I've been told they slacked off a bit, but you can still call to find out if there's anything they can do.

[ramz28]

awesome thank you, i will fill that out and see what happens.