onceinalifetime

how do i get out of this ticket?

a month or so ago i got a summons for riding a bike on the sidewalk in brooklyn (i was dismounting).
the officer i dealt with told me that if i failed to appear at the hearing, there would be a warrant for my arrest in new york.
i am a florida resident and am entirely unable to appear for this hearing.
my friend who lives in brooklyn said that i could call some office and they'd cancel the summons...
does anyone know the number i'd need to call? i'm having a hard time finding it online.
thanks

spud

hmm, im not sure under which law this would fall under, you should be able to just pay the fine (along with a guilty or no contest checkbox plea) and be done with it. Check with TransAlt they should be able to help you find whoever you need to talk to; if all else fails, call the DA office and tell them the police person gave you a ticket for locking your bike up on the sidewalk, if it sounds really sketchy and not much like a crime DA will usually save everyone the time and embarassment and just drop the charges; but really its probably just a fine.

eddiebrannan

you in town? if so call 311. if not post and i'll look into it for you

drac_vamp

i dont know if this would be concidered a traffic offense, but if it is chances are if you pointed your search towards traffic court or something that would help.

do you have the ticket with you? there's bound to be info on there. i'm sure the warrant for your arrest for missing a simple, non-felony hearing would have an unbelievably low bail, something like a thousand or two, which ends up only being a hundred or two since you pay 10% (or is this only in california and oregon?) should they actually catch you doing something. it's not like they will be crossing state lines to get you. anyhow... having a warrant isn't as scary as it sounds, just dont do anything that would get your name or identification checked by NY police. from my understanding, and this might differ by state, but a warrant in one state stays there (assuming its a petty offense, misdemeanor, etc) so if you were pulled over in any of the 49 other states, it wouldn't come up and you wouldn't be hauled off to jail. arrest warrants go away in 7 years (again, i am certain that's the statute of limitations in some states but not in others, so don't quote me) so if worse comes to worse, play it safe and dont go to NY for that long.

eddiebrannan

ps that's a bs ticket but heads up; new york cops are wilin out right now, cracking down on everything arrestable or ticketable, on the basis that if you arrest for every small thing you catch folks wanted for big things, and create an environment where big things (ie terrorism) are less likely to happen. it's an overt and deliberate policy. cop told me while arresting my girl (for not showing up for a court date for something incredibly minor). but be warned. smal infractions aren't going to be overlooked

drac_vamp

does new york have an extradition policy?

eddiebrannan

yeah but i don't think they'd excercise that option in this case lol

drac_vamp

seriously. even more reason to just ignore it!

no, but really, since it is such a minor thing and not a criminal charge or anything, you might as well make the call to whichever office and explain the situation. i got a summons to go to court in a state i dont live in for a crime i did commit, it scared me for a long time because i thought it meant i could be arrested here for something up there. anyhow, i called the courts up there and pleaded with the clerks and da's explaining that i was a college student and didnt even live in their state and had no way to show up for court. a few people explained to me that since it was such a small crime, to just accept the fact that i have an arrest warrant there and to not go back for a long time. when i told one court clerk that i didnt even live there she laughed and said "oh, you golden man. just dont get caught slippin". in my case they wouldn't just take a check in the mail for the fine, but that was a criminal charge you know? since its traffic related (i think) they might just allow a no-show in court so long as the fine is paid. but, that's where they really get you. they know they have a bogus charge that will be dropped and they still want to stick you for crap, and making you go to court a grip of times costs money and time. isn't there a link on here to a bicycling organization that helps in traffic incidents? surely they know a little bit about the legal side of things too. anyone?

DIVA

Onceinlifetime,

Unless you gave the officer false info not to be tracked down, don't ignore it. If you do, your information will be on record and your fine will increase after six months by the court. They will also put a lien on your bank accounts until they collect whatever the fine is to date.

I was issued a ticket last Sept for crusing through a so called "restricted area" on West St. Long story short, it was restricted for some and not for other's on bikes. Yes, I went to court but the officer didn't appear. Expecting the judge to throw it out. NOT! She ruled in favor of the officer. I refuse to pay, so I contacted everyone I could think of. Channel 9 (Help me Howard), Channel 2 and even the Mayor's office. After contacting a few other heavy header's, proving my case by providing evidence, they stepped in on my behalf. Finally, a year later, a $200 ticket, case dismissed and the officer was demoted and/or fired.

Send me a PM.

williamw

extradition from florida = free trip to nyc! sounds good to me!

drac_vamp

you'll get released on your own recognizance anyways, it's not even a misdemeanor. sit in jail, have a nice balogna sandwich and hardboiled egg and just sort of chill for a night. no biggy at all.

evanyc

how much is the ticket? i'd just pay it. i'm sure you can contact one to make arrangements for payment from FL.

also, i'm fully in support of ticketing people for riding on sidewalks (which i guess you weren't really doing if you were dismounting) and REALLY wish they'd ticket more people for riding the wrong way.

edit: yeah, contact trans alt. they should be able to properly direct ya.

onceinalifetime

thanks for all of these quick responses!
so far i haven't received a fine, just a summons. evidentally that's their preferred M.O. towards cyclists in NYC. the way a friend of mine explained it, the hearing would amount to the judge telling me not to ride my bike on the sidewalk.
of course, they might just decide to give me a fine at the hearing.

though i'm not in new york and don't plan on going there anytime soon, i do usually spend 3-4 weeks a year there visiting and thus want to avoid spending any part of my future visits there in an NYC jail.

nowhere on the ticket was there any phone number, website address, or email address.
i'm emailing TransAlt now.
i wasn't riding on the sidewalk. i don't ride on the sidewalk in florida, either... it's legal here, but it's still dangerous.

MaxBender

Don't ignore it or blow it off.

You need to address it with the court one way or the other to avoid getting hauled off at a most inconvenient time, even in FL.

shants

are you kidding me? no one is going to be ****ing extradited for a minor cycling traffic violation. end of story.

either ignore it and accept the small risk that you may have to deal with it if cops hassle you next time you are in the city, or make a few calls until you are able to get in contact with the traffic court to do what needs to be done to put you back in the green.

seriously, it's not a big deal. enjoy.

rideabike

If I were you, I would call the court. It's possible that they may have not yet issued a warrant if you didn't appear. Ask them how to resolve it. You may be able to submit a sworn statement and pay the fine. You can also ask to speak to the prosecutor.

Also, look at this. I don't know if it's dated, but it talks about instances like yours.

https://www.queensdefense.com/outofstatesum.htm

Finally, look at this:

https://www.hsmv.state.fl.us/ddl/faqsuspend.html

"If you hold a Florida license and have received a ticket in another state, they will send Florida the ticket information and it will be added to your record."

I don't know if you received a traffic ticket in NYC, but since bicycles are regulated under the Vehicle and Traffic law in NY, you may have:

https://www.dot.state.ny.us/pubtrans/share.html

If so, you could have problems in Florida since NY and Florida have reciprocity in dealing with traffic offenses. You might be able to find that out by calling the Florida DMV.

bklyn74

my guess is that it will show up on "your permanent record." if a cop in any state were to run your license, that warrant would probably show up. what that means in the real world, i have no idea. i'd just pay up, say it sucks, and carry on. but, maybe i'm just paranoid. i think the worst that could happen is that the amount of the fine will skyrocket and you could be stuck shelling out some serious cash and you won't be able to renew your license until it's paid.

eddiebrannan

would have said the same thing, except for the fact that a couple months ago my girl and i were busted for open container (watching a salsa band at the east river amphitheater - jeez). she had ignored a minor ticket for some bs a few years before, and when they ran our names i got to go home pushing two bikes while she got to spend a night in the tombs. it doesn't go away, and you can always come into contact with the cops even if you're basically law-abiding.

fyi the ticket fine was $25, and before my summons date i got a letter saying my case had been dismissed. no idea why - i hadn't fought it.

dirty cookie

i got the same summons. if you dont pay the fine/show up there probably will be a warrant issued, but they wont come and get you. the thing is, if you come to nyc again
and you happen to be stopped by an officer and they run your id, then you could be in
trouble. just plead guilty. you can pay over the internet. should be between $50-150.
i believe the summons falls under a moving violation and is processed in traffic court.

you can start by looking on this page and calling the brooklyn office
https://www.nydmv.state.ny.us/dmvfaqs.htm#tickets

also
https://www.dot.state.ny.us/pubtrans/share.html

and you can try calling this number i got from 311 --> 718-488-5710

hope this helps

dc