Who At HPD BOOTed This One?

 

By Wednesday afternoon, 2 days ago, less than 36 hours after the MINI on South Front Street had been BOOTed by HPD, the orange BOOT was no longer secured to the driver's side front wheel.  In fact, it was nowhere in sight.  As was the bright orange warning ticket that every BOOTed vehicle gets, telling drivers not to try to move their car and to pay their fines to get the BOOT removed. Typically, that means that the owner has paid all their overdue parking tickets and the $150 BOOT administrative fee ticket that comes with the BOOT.  That appears not to be the case with the black MINI that seems to have been parked unmoved for a few months.  That's because the two WRONG SIDE PARKING tickets -- with three weeks between them -- and the $150 BOOT ADMIN FEE ticket were still on the windshield. 

It's pretty obvious to me that someone at HPD screwed up by installing the BOOT on the car when they shouldn't have.  Someone else then realized the mistake and the BOOT was removed free of charge.  The fact that the BOOT and the warning card were removed but the BOOT ticket was not removed shows that the Keystone Cops have possibly infiltrated HPD.

What BOOT?

HPD issued the MINI another wrong side parking ticket early yesterday morning and will likely do the same soon after mignight tonight now that they are keeping an eye on the car (possibly thanks to HUDseen).

I'm thinking that the owner of the MINI is still vacationing in Europe 3 months after they parked it on Front and hopped an Amtrak train to an airport.  Can you imagine returning to your car and noticing you've been issued a $150 BOOT FEE ticket but see no BOOT on your front wheel?!!!  That's when you know you are in the bizarro world of Hudson, New York.

There are a few ancillary things to note about this situation.  First of all, as HUDseen has pointed out already, other than the one section on the west side of South Front Street south of the bridge, there are no signs anywhere on Front Street warning Amtrak riders not to park their vehicle on city streets or directing them to the city-owned Amtrak lot.  Second, and perhaps most concerning, is that prior to the completion of the DRI project last summer, the MINI would have been parked in the middle of a long stretch of yellow curb, also known as a NO PARKING ZONE.  Not no more, though!  There had always been a painted yellow curb that stretched over one hundred feet from south of the curb ramp on the southwest corner of the intersection at Allen to a NO PARKING HERE TO CORNER sign more than halfway down the block.  The yellow curb and the sign disappeared, and neither of them were replaced (no sign was needed because there was no longer a yellow-curbed NO PARKING ZONE needing one).  While the lengthy NO PARKING ZONE which covered at least 5 parking spaces and was meant to keep vehicles from slamming into one another was done away with, it should come as no surprise to anyone, including Rob Perry, that the hill, the bend, the busy intersection and the narrowness of the street remained, as did (and do) the speedy vehicles.  5 or 6 parking spaces that were once off limits at a busy (and getting busier by the day it seems) intersection on a hill at a narrow bend in the road became fair game for all to park in.  And still is. For months at a time, I guess.  That sure is some kind of "improvement" and "revitalization," wouldn't you say?  We can thank Rob Perry for allowing this to slip by unnoticed (or if he noticed he didn't care to do anything about it).  Or maybe it was Perry's plan all along to get rid of that long and useless NO PARKING ZONE and that pesky NO PARKING HERE TO CORNER sign.  Yes, our DPW Superintendent allowed the DRI to create a more dangerous intersection for all of us.  Go figure!

Third, and perhaps most telling about HPD, DPW and City Hall's inability to get it right, are the free parking options for Amtrak commuters and vacationers at the bottom of Front Street on Cross Street across from the train station.  Even those headed out of town for a long time -- just as the owner of the MINI might be up to -- have a cheap, if not free (and free from tickets) place to park.  It's a convenient and safe place to park if you can find a space (off of Front!); it's closer to the Amtrak station than the city's long-term Amtrak lot is; there are no annoying parking apps or kiosks to bother with; and, most importantly, it's a whole lot cheaper than the lot (at ten bucks a day)! Yes, there are free or low-cost parking options on Cross Street, with some months cheaper than others.  For instance, right now and for the next 7 2/3 months, you can park your car on Cross Street for as long as you like and only get one $25 NO PARKING ZONE ticket per week, that is if HPD notices your parked car early on Thursday mornings and tickets it (this is obviously not a given).  Going away for a few days, none of which involve a Wednesday night?  It's absolutely free!  Park and go!  Hell, the city wants you to park there for free -- the parking rule signs on Cross are essentially invitations to park for free 6 days a week!  And even better parking options on Cross Street exist during the four months from December through March when no ticketing by HPD occurs at all and DPW doesn't need or want to plow the street after snowfall.  Park there for days, weeks or all four months if you like and you needn't worry about being issued one parking ticket.  As long as there isn't a snow emergency, your car will be completely ignored by HPD and you will save a bundle of money.  Call it a subsidized Amtrak parking area, courtesy of the taxpaying residents of the City of Hudson and the Mayor's Office!  And HPD (primarily Captain David Miller) and DPW (primarily Rob "the rocket" Perry), I suppose.  They're all for it, so be sure to take them up on their generous offer.  And tell your friends about it!  Just be sure to read one of the parking signs posted on Cross Street... the kind that you won't find anywhere around the corner on Front Street!