Friday, April 08, 2011
The overweening government of Yonkers and its ticket blitz
There have been severe budget cuts in Yonkers of late, that's nothing new but seems the city under the mayorship of Republican and self-described pro-life conservative Phil Amicone have hit upon a solution. Wasn't gonna do another blog about this so soon since I got my very first traffic camera ticket issued on March the 4th for allegedly not coming to a complete stop going northbound on Nepperhan Ave. in order to make a right onto Odell but I got another nice thing in the mail just yesterday for allegedly doing the exact same thing on March the 16th. The letterhead reads like it did before: City of Yonkers Red Light Traffic Safety Program PO Box 22091 Tempe AZ 85285-2091. That's some intercity racket these cities and municipalities have going on and then there's the website where you can view actual video footage of your moving violation at http://www.ViolationInfo.com/ and they even give you your very own PIN # for this. That's an invasion of Privacy right there, Big Brother would be proud. Fine again is 50 bucks with no points attached to your license and I'm leading up to a very larger point at the end which the soapster should be able to appreciate (he must be rubbing off on me). There really should be an audit from a totally outside independent agency of these things (actually they really shouldn't exist these red light cam programs in the first place as they are unconstitutional but be that as it may) and then we can find out Things like who's involved? who's collecting the money? who knows who? can they target people they don't like? etc. etc. Yonkers is legendary for its corruption, there have been problems in its police and fire departments down through the years and you'd think they'd want to change the image of the City of Gracious Living so why not investigate everything to make sure everything is on the up-and-up? The older reader may remember the Parking Violations Bureau scandal down in New York City during the Koch Administration and for any PVB to be collecting such vast sums of money the need for massive oversight should be obvious. The red light cams at Nepperhan and Odell might also prove bad for business down the road. There's a popular and major shopping area here anchored by an A&P and Walgreen's and I would think the merchants would want to fight this as I'm sure many consumers in the area have already had their tickets doled out in the mail and are thinking of taking their business elsewhere. Now the Overriding Theme where the personal becomes political: I am no longer voting for someone who calls himself a conservative Republican, throw in pro-life too if you want if that person like Mayor Amicone does not really believe in the tenets of limited government and acts that way. Yonkers' Red Light Traffic Safety Program is happening under his watch, he has to have knowledge of it and this is no way to close budget gaps. It's not the Tea Party way and he can find work elsewhere after his mayoralty is over. Last I checked it's the consent of the governed:)
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Have you contacted the city to be sure that they are indeed the ones issuing these tickets? It does seem fishy that the last one you sent to Cincinnati and then this one to Arizona. Could actually be a scam.
ReplyDeleteLet us have your PIN anyway, just for fun.
Its not just lucrative for
ReplyDeletethe city..some of these outfits install the cameras, review the photos and do the billing;
profits shared between the city and the business.
...might as well invest in the project. Kind of clever, when red light
camera revenues start to go down, some localities
have taken to shortening the yellow light. Reminds me of those notorious local lawmen in the tiny
southern locales back in the fifties..Macon County line and stuff, ya know?
Beth that's a good idea but both tickets had that return address of Cincinnati, probably should have mentioned that. Apparently that other address is the stuff BB was talking about. BB we don't have ethical people in government, probably never did. The fact that some places shorten the yellow light proves there are quotas in place, something eternally denied by those in the know.
ReplyDeleteThe big YO has a colorful if not weird history though. Place by Orchard St. used to be the Pegasus Bar, a mob hangout for cartoon characters from a bygone era who still think they're relevant. Son of Sam lived down Glenwood on Pine St. in an apartment complex and to this day the Yonkers Police think there were other people involved. Possibly tied in somehow with past Satanic rites in Untermyer Park and workers at St. John's Hospital used to see torches in the woods at night. Maybe lawyers judges and important people involved in those rituals and dead German Shepards were occasionally found on the Old Croton Aqueduct here, probably got the animals at the Animal Shelter on Midland Ave. Yonkers Fire Dept. had that LSD scandal I blogged about where some firefighters were unknowingly dosed with acid by their fellow firefighters, actually a ring of them and the department covered up the blooodwork. Domestic violence, back in the day if you knew the right cop you could skirt an order of protection. Nation's first sex-change operation performed on Ludlow St. and you'd think the Lady Gaga would be proud of having been born here. I wanna move though:)
ReplyDeleteAlso to mention I did see the two rather large camera boxes on the poles at Odell and Nepperhan so if it is a scam it's in addition to the official scam.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like your mayor
ReplyDeleteneeds the $$ ...?
They all need the money and so principles go out the window. Your link very interesting, apparently as a conservative Amicone is pro-life but not much else. Free speech, free press, eh. Well I just got my THIRD ticket in the mail the other day, same offense and starting to think maybe I pissed somebody off. My taxes and now this feeding their coffers and yet some of the streets like parts of Glenwood STILL have potholes from the winter. WHERE'S my $$$ going?
ReplyDeleteI had to read the link again to get this straight. So Phil Amicone may have gotten a lap dance, a paper printed this and he directed that the newspaper stands be stolen. Guy comes across as flakey and instead of just letting the story ride and play itself out he's 8 mil in the hole. Thuganomics.
ReplyDeleteYou are probably right: Yonkers is using traffic
ReplyDeletemonies as a resource. In this day in age it is anathema, political suicide to even suggest raising taxes...so, find
other resources. My favorite is the lottery:
people empty their pocket books for the miniscule chance of becoming a millionaire..when it would be much cheaper for them to pay a little more in tax. Me-having paid in the max my whole life on
medicare and social security, am surely looking forward to having it taken away so we can
donate yet again to cutting the taxes on the wealthy. Dang traffic cameras, anyhow.
Yonkers is bonkers. You need to start a graffiti campaign.
ReplyDeleteIts American traffic solutions and they are doing the same thing in NYC , Nassau and Suffolk, Its not surprising they got you on right turns, thats how they make their money...but I can see the future, because its playing out across the country. People are going to start complaining and it going to get louder . Some states are voting on repealing the laws they put into effect earlier.
ReplyDeleteI have to check , but I think they have them on a stop sign at Fort Hill Rd and Central . Its the ultimate set-up. I cant say whether Yonkers knows what ATS was going to do with the cams, but they should have .
They got away with this in NYC , but its not going to be the same in the suburbs. You have to fight the tickets, complain to legislators , who may or may not do anything .
I am filling in the media. They are starting to report on this in New Jersey. Its taking longer here. But we will see. Keep me informed on the locations and how many are focused on turns .
What you need to do, and it was done in Minneapolis prior to them being ruled unconstitutional, is to get a rogue gang to go out and night and cover the damn things with a sheet.
ReplyDeleteWell jp just yesterday I was coming south on the Saw Mill Pkwy and saw the red light blinking at the Executive Ave. exit but at least you can see that. Same deal when you go north on the Saw Mill Pkwy again around Reader's Digest Rd. and Roaring Brook Rd., that's more the Pleasantville area, you clearly see the blinking red light, that horizontal slit of bright light going on and off that tells you there's a camera in there but again at least it's noticeable. Getting off at the Dobbs Ferry/Arsdley exit off the Saw Mill and there are three cameras prominently installed above the traffic lights but you'd have to be in a fog not to notice 'em and I knew they were there for years so you just know to be careful. These things at Nepperhan and Odell, I thought the angle in the pics of my car were rather odd, images taken from above and behind me until I finally saw where exactly they put these quite big camera boxes.
ReplyDeleteI'll pass on BB's call for higher taxes and soap I hope someday old ma Nature who can be a bitch throws a storm this way and knocks 'em down but the solution right now is to address these issues in the voting booth. It's now a campaign issue for me, not just the red-light cams but this whole what Alex Jones calls trying to get us used to a police state kind of deal and I enjoyed the link you sent me via e-mail btw.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing that another couple hundred bucks to the
ReplyDeletecamera operator and you will be ready to join up with BantheCams ...not sure if they have a presidential candidate yet....
The email link I sent you wasn't an Alex Jones thing though but I get ya anyway.
ReplyDeleteIf Lew Rockwell isn't a part of your daily reading, it ought to be.
http://lewrockwell.com/
Anti-State, Anti-War, Pro-Market
What really irks me about politicians like Amicone is this. As Mayor he has the attitude that this is an excellent way to raise revenue for a city not in the best fiscal shape, basically make money off the population but then they expect people to vote them into office again when they're due up for reelection. Doesn't work that way. When government turns hostile towards the governed the only redress you have is in the voting booth.
ReplyDeleteI love your research BB. Yesterday I mentioned some of the places I know about where there are cams on the lights but in these cases the cams are rather obvious and so also act as a deterrent so you kind of have a fighting chance. In the Odell and Nepperhan Ave. situation you really don't know where the cams are at first since they're not on the lights so this is kind of taking the red-light cam situation and making it more crafty, more insidious. Now lest some readers get the wrong impression I am not against all traffic tickets but they should only be doled out to the truly deserving and by those by ccps on the beat and not by the use of electronic surveillance of the citizenry. In other words give out tickets only to those who truly effect public safety on the roadways. If moving violations were only issued to those who truly merit them you wouldn't have a quota system, this wouldn't raise as much revenue for cash-strapped cities and municipalities and so the whole philosophy behind this is corrupt. It's like with raising cig taxes, is the goal of people like Bloomberg really to get people to quit smoking or is it a great way to get more money from people with a hard to shake habit? now they're coming after the Indians.
ReplyDeleteLately, our local newspaper has been publishing photos from
ReplyDeletebusiness cams of people
1. shoplifing
2. vandalizing after hours
...with the query, 'If you recognize these persons, call your police station'
.Not sure about privacy, but seems a legitimate law enforcement tool to me...
and no, I haven't seen any Yonkers red light photos yet.
Is there a police officer's signature on it, because Yonkers says a officer reviews the ticket, but in some places they say that and the reality is they dont .
ReplyDeleteI didn't see a signature jp but I paid off my third one and haven't gotten any since although my mail comes later (holds my breath). I just pretty much avoid the area now. There is something I've noticed going on in this country though, politicians are no longer responsive to the will of the people. Drove past the area today 'cause I had no choice and the cams are still there so the gov't, politicians pretty much do as they please. Another case in point, that black Pace U. college student who was recently killed by a Pleasantville police officer in Thornwood as I'm sure you're aware. Now I'm not even delving into the merits, pros and cons of the case but the Pleasantville police department union just bestowed the honor of their police officer of the year upon the cop who shot Danroy Henry. This despite the controversy in the case, despite the divided public. That's kinda saying to me the institutions are pretty much gonna do what they want with no regard at all for the will, the feelings of the population and that's a disconnect in our democracy. There seems a disturbing kind of hostility of the gov't towards the governed imo.
ReplyDeleteBB if I want surveillance cameras everywhere I'll move to London. BTW is Prince William going bald?
ReplyDeletePolitics out in the boondocks: One of our County commissioners is in jail on a sex assault charge. I suppose he can continue to screw up the county from there....
ReplyDeleteGot a fourth one in the mail the other day. Guy at work who lives in the Bronx told me once you get the first one they keep coming. Recently got a $500+ tax refund from the feds and Yonkers is chipping away at it. Tax back only to go for tickets, something weird is going on here.
ReplyDeleteYou should not just keep paying these . You should fight them, Complain to the city council, the attorney general , the Journal News.
ReplyDeleteJournal News yesterday :
http://www.lohud.com/article/20110417/NEWS01/104170365/1018/NEWS02/Local-governments-spent-7M-lobbying-2010?odyssey=nav|head
http://njtoday.net/2011/04/14/scutari-criticizes-christie-administration-push-to-double-number-of-towns-using-red-light-cameras/
You're right but the thing about the Journal News, formerly the Herald Statesman is I'm done with letters to the editor. Wrote a letter once and they published it. In it I said me and some girl ahead of me were pulled over for not coming to complete stops and I felt it was a quota system and then two cops from Yonkers wrote very melodramatic letters taking the opposite view. One even said if I ran over his little girl what he would do and Gannett published it like I was a danger to the public or something so no more complaining to papers for me (it's all free speech though and I'm not against it but blogging is so much better). I think the Attorney General is the best route though. Paid the tickets thus far because I don't have the time but yeah it's reached that point.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't help but notice in your link above that NJ Governor Chris Christie wants to double the number of towns using red-light cameras. Didn't Christie run as some sort of Tea Partyer or something? & that's my point. We have to stop voting for people who say they believe in limited government but who act otherwise while in office. Of course that's a tricky one if this is their first time as mayor or governor but don't vote for them the SECOND time around. Disgusting, what an arrogant jerk!
ReplyDelete