Don't know about Brooklyn but here you have a 3rd option besides paying the ticket or seeing a judge. You can schedule an appointment with an "officer of the court" (I forget their exact title). If your driving record is pretty clean they'll give you a couple of options, - a reduced fine or keeping the infraction off your permanent record as long as you don't have another one in the next 12 months.

You're basically pleading guilty. Trying to convince the officer of the court that you shouldn't have gotten the ticket is pointless. They can't make a determination on guilt or innocence. They're only authorized to cut you a deal within well defined parameters.

I think other municipalities are doing this too to reduce the backlog in the courts. If you don't like the options you're presented with, you can still go to court.

From an ethical standpoint I don't really like it. People who don't or can't read the fine print on the ticket won't even know it's an option.