Dear Editor:
Last night I returned to my vehicle to see that my car was “booted.”
This happened at 12:28 a.m. After looking at the sign, I am still unaware of what I had done wrong or illegal in parking my car upon my visit to Hoboken.
I had arrived at my car at 12:33 a.m. and immediately called to start getting the boot removed. It was too soon and I was advised to call 10 minutes later…I did and was advised to call 10 minutes later… again I called and was advised to call 10 minutes later. Finally, a lady called the officer who booted the car and received the information to give me a code. I paid with my card and then started to enter the code I was given. The boot was deficient and the code could not be entered correctly and the boot unlocked. I was informed that someone would be there in 45 minutes. An hour and a half later, after there were no trains out of Hoboken, I called and was informed that no one works between 12 a.m. and 8 a.m. and that I should wait inside the car where it was warmer. I called again wondering if no one works between 12 and 8 a.m., how my car was booted at 12:28 a.m.? This led to the advice for me to “just go find a hotel.” This is great advice to someone from out of state visiting with a phone that is about to die… I have no idea where to find a hotel. I called again at 7 a.m., freezing cold- 7 hours of sitting in 27 degree weather to be sure that someone was coming at 8. I was told maybe. I was told that they took notes. I then walked to city hall of Hoboken at 8:30 a.m. to get the boot taken off my car and was informed that the city was short handed.
The boot was eventually removed by someone in city hall. By the time I walked to my car, she was on the phone with someone because it was obvious the boot was broken and the key wouldn’t even work….
I got home at 11:15 a.m. this morning, shivering. It took about an hour and a half to get my body temperature “normal.”
If you review, there are a few things that stick out in my head and would like to know:
Does the punishment fit the crime? Is it humane to have people stand in sub freezing temperature for 9 hours because they improperly parked? The punishment seemed inhumane, fascist and extreme. This is the penalty you would like visitors of your city to experience? Are boots tested before they are placed on vehicles for an situation like this? If the worker’s shift ends at 12 a.m., why is he putting a boot on a car at 12:28 a.m. What happens if the boots being used are defective? Who do we call and where can we go when the city takes such an extreme penalty? Why would any one go to Hoboken, ever?
Best,
Tom Sebazco
Fearless Leader & CEO