Stoop Drinking Still Illegal
Hey, this is a familiar story. Guy drinks beer on stoop. Guy gets ticket. And this guy goes to court. The Daily News reports that Prospect Heights resident Kimber VanRy will be in Brooklyn Criminal Court next month to contest the $25 ticket for sipping a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on the un-gated stoop of…
Hey, this is a familiar story. Guy drinks beer on stoop. Guy gets ticket. And this guy goes to court. The Daily News reports that Prospect Heights resident Kimber VanRy will be in Brooklyn Criminal Court next month to contest the $25 ticket for sipping a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on the un-gated stoop of his Sterling Street condo. “VanRy said that as one of the cops played a video game on a cell phone, the other wrote him a $25 summons for drinking on the stoop — and allegedly told him not to worry because the ticket would likely be dismissed.” He pleaded not guilty to the ticket and got it reduced to $15, but it ain’t about the money. Drinking in public is illegal, as we know, but most folks don’t think a stoop fits the city’s definition of “public” as a place where “public or a substantial group of persons has access, including, but not limited to ‘a sidewalk or a street.'” Is this an issue the council should take up?
Prospect Heights Man Cited For Drinking Beer on Stoop [NY Daily News]
Photo by yadroff.
there are PLENTY of things more stupid in the world than smoking. and honestly i dont care about shaving those last 10-30 years off my life because those years blow anyway. and it’s not like i have kids or a family so it doesnt exactly matter. i dont know why people who claim to be so liberal about stuff have to put down and mock others for their choices in life. i choose to smoke. i LIKE it. it’s very very calming and relaxing for me. wish it wasnt as expensive tho 🙁
*Rob*
Can anyone tell me how the ticket is actually enforced? It’s not like a moving violation or parking tickets where you’ll be arrested the next time you’re stopped or your car may wind up with the boot. Is there a bench warrrant issued if you just don’t pay it??? Come on now people.
If I got that ticket I’d frame it.
Puff away rob with your MD 40 in your brown paper bag. As insensitive as it may sound, the more you puff the shorter will be your puffing life. There’s nothing more stupid in the world than smoking.
Lot of whining over $25. Letting parking meter expire probably costs more than that.
another thing. if you are on your stoop and you see a cop coming to give you a ticket. hello just run inside. they can’t ring the bell and try to find you. jeez.
*puffing smoke rings in dave’s face*
The police are out in force in Prospect Park when the Philharmonic or Metropolitan Opera performs during the summer, ticketing all the well-to-do cultural elite drinking their 2005 bordeaux during performances. Not. I like the analogy between stoop sales and unlicensed vendors. If a stoop is public property, then logically the sales are unlawful without a license. I think these issues raise a more important point about the Bloomberg administration, namely, that he oversees one of the most regressive tax policies in the U.S. With all the ridiculous ticketing, including for drinking on stoops and the draconian issuance of parking tickets, many of which are illegitimate (but who has the time to go through the hassle of challenging all of them), the penalties fall disproportionately on those New Yorkers less able to afford them, less able to afford parking in garages. In fact, the Mayor’s cavalier attitude toward the property tax rebate is demonstrative of his utter ignorance that $400 actually means something to a lot of us (in contrast to the price of a lunch for His Honor).
Arkady…I voted for Obama. Smoking should not be allowed within a 10 yard vicinty of any other human being.
I always love to hear smokers defend their “rights.” Bring it on and I’ll outline for you the 10 reasons why people smoke.
my hells to the no comment was for the proposterous proposal to ban public smoking. whatever. people are so omg like lets be all like europeans blah blah blah. well if you do, then you smoke in public! woo. and im all for not smoking inside public places, but out in the open air, please dont take that right away!
*Rob*