Drivers in NYC are getting hit from all sides. In addition to the NYPD’s increased enforcement of dangerous traffic violations, state troopers have also been dishing out thousands of traffic tickets throughout the city. In December 2016, Governor Cuomo deployed 150 state cops to patrol city highways, bridges, and tunnel crossings. Since then, NYSP officers have written more than 14,000 tickets to NYC drivers. Last year, troopers handed out only 1,692, according to the New York Post. They wrote a measly four tickets in 2015 and none in 2014.
Drivers have been getting snagged by troopers on the FDR Drive, West Side Highway, and Belt Parkway, as well as the Brooklyn Queens, Gowanus, and Prospect expressways. The Post reports that most tickets have been for speeding and cellphone use. Troopers have also made 93 arrests in the city, a nearly 50 percent increase over 2016. State police arrested no one in NYC in 2015.
The staggering jump is ostensibly in response to increased security needs in Manhattan and the five boroughs, but locals suspect that they are getting stuck in the crossfire of a turf war between the governor and Mayor Bill de Blasio.
State troopers have had a presence in NYC since the 1950s and the number has steadily risen since the September 11 attacks, but the addition of 150 more officers this past December is one of the largest increases in more than 15 years. It came amidst a clash between Cuomo and de Blasio over whether to rescue or kill a deer that wandered through a Harlem park. The governor had also been stewing over the lack of credit given to state troopers for discovering a third explosive device after the Chelsea bombing in September.
While safety is important, no driver deserves to be stuck paying for a political feud. If you or a loved one has been ticketed by a state trooper in New York City or anywhere else, you need an attorney to help mitigate the consequences. The lawyers of the Rosenblum Law are experienced traffic ticket attorneys with offices in New York and New Jersey. Email or call 888-203-2619 for a free consultation about your case.
