WPCNR THE PARKING NEWS. By John F. Bailey. August 9, 2007: The City of White Plains has returned the Marine Corps Recruiting Vehicle it had impounded with the intent to auction it off to pay outstanding Marine parking ticket fines and late fees. Gunnery Sergeant Matthew Butler reported to WPCNR today the city returned the vehicle Tuesday. 

Sergeant Butler said the Corps is continuing to hold talks with the city over the settlement of $94,000 the city is claiming the Marines owe, despite $70,000 of that being fines for space in the Chester-Maple Garage that Marines claim was paid for in full. The city has denied there was a lease on the permit spaces. The Marine car impounded since April has been quietly returned to the Marines.

Butler said Marines the Corps has been able to determine were the drivers of Marine Cars ticketed by the city for parking violations are "voluntarily paying their tickets."

"We want to be good partners with the city," Sergeant Butler told WPCNR Thursday. "Individual Marines we've been able to identify are voluntarily paying their tickets." Asked about the $70,000 in tickets the Marines report are related to the city ticketing vehicles where space was already paid for in the Chester-Maple garage, Butler said those issues were still being worked on in good faith. Sergeant Butler said he did not have any figures on how much in fines have been paid so far by the Marines.

The city seized the car with the intention of auctioning it, but apparently returned the car after learning that federal law prohibits seizure of government owned vehicles or selling of government property, which apparently the city Department of Parking was not aware of.

WPCNR has also learned that the ticketing of the Marine vehicles was begun apparently in earnest only in July 2006  (at the beginning of a financially troubled year for the city).

WPCNR learned according to one source this was initiated by the city when neighboring stores complained. According to a person who worked in a business near the Marine Corps Recruiting Office, "I previously worked at a privately owned store on East Post Road and also parked in the Chester Maple garage. I remember a time when enforcement on the Marine cars was "select" depending on the person writing tickets that day. Oftentimes the cars were ignored and the neighboring store owners would complain to not only the officer writing, but the Marines as well."

The person recalled the ticket blitz began about a year ago, confirming what WPCNR had been told by the Marines last week.  Some tickets have been said to date back to 2001, but that has not been confirmed by any breakdowns from the Department of Parking, which has said to various media that they do not have a breakdown of the ticket details as to place and infraction.

The source said, "Then, it pretty much came out of nowhere that they started getting tickets on the street outside their office."

The source also indicates "While it may be wrong for the Marines to receive tickets...a primary reason they do is not the enforcers' desire to do so, but the CITIZENS and STORE OWNERS who call and complain to Parking Department brass, and say that the Marines are taking our spots (or potential customers' spots) without paying. Ticketing them only began a little over a year ago, as it was not common practice until complaints were made by the public."

The person said they did not understand why Marine vehicles parked in the garage were ticketed for check clearing problems, pointing out that it was their experience if you’re an individual, “checks do not have to be cleared in order to receive a permit, any regular permit holder can walk into an office on the first of the month and receive their permit by simply writing a check. If the check bounces, the permit of that individual is sought out by use of permit numbers that help identify the owners. So that excuse doesn’t make sense.”

To date the Army Corps of Engineers which the Marines say issued the check on the first of the month for monthly Chester-Maple Permits has not furnished details of the agreement the Engineers have with the city. The city has denied there is a lease on the spaces, but there may be an agreement.

Last week, Tim Curry, New York Times reporter covering the story reported that Paul Wood, the City Executive Officer as saying he did not know whether the $94,000 would ever be paid, or if a city court judge might choose to waive the fines.

This week, Barbara Leek, the City Judge, eliminated the late fees attached to tickets paid by the first Marine to come forward to pay parking tickets his vehicle had received.