HOBOKEN — Fox 5 New York broadcast an investigative report on Thursday night following up on a story they did last month about Hoboken’s stepped up ticketing and confusing parking signage.
In the original report in November, the reporter noted that signs in Hoboken say that visitors without permits (residential, business, or visitor permits) are allowed a four-hour limit for parking. The signs do not specify if the time limit applies to just that spot, or all of town. Fox 5 found out that even people who park for a few minutes, leave town, and come back hours later are sometimes being booted as if they were here the whole time. Fox 5 tried it with an undercover van of their own. They parked in Hoboken for a few minutes, spent time in Edgewater, and returned later — only to be booted within an hour of their return.
When the van was booted, the newscaster showed receipts to a Parking Utility worker to prove he’d been in Edgewater, and the worker said he would have to fight it in court.
The Fox 5 report also showed a man receiving a ticket for not paying a meter machine, even though the signage didn’t tell him that the machine was far up the block and not close to where he parked.
In Thursday night’s follow up, the Fox 5 reporter said the team had received numerous e-mails from people also airing complaints about Hoboken’s enforcement.
The reporter interviewed several people on the street, including a West New York man who said that he had been in Hoboken for only an hour to use his gym, and had been booted. He said that he had a printout from the gym of his time in and out. He said that he will now cancel his membership.
Reporter Joel Waldman interviewed both Mayor Dawn Zimmer and one of her most public political opponents, Councilwoman Beth Mason. Mason said that she, too, had received complaints about the parking situation.
Zimmer responded to the report by saying that the city was conducting a review of the signage and enforcement. She also noted that the signage and rules had been in place for more than 10 years.
However, the stepped-up enforcement is more recent, as reported in this newspaper in several articles this year. (See more links below.)
Zimmer said that ultimately, if the City Council thinks there should be changes, then changes will be made. (The council is currently divided 5-4 in favor of Zimmer’s allies.)
The Fox 5 report cited the city’s figures posted on the city website showing that the city issued 11,072 more summonses in 2010 than 2009. This represented a 11.6 percent increase.
The full story can be viewed on the website for Fox 5 New York.
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