Fines for parking tickets, litter and other violations reached a record high of $993 billion in the 2016 fiscal year, according to a report released by the city comptroller Wednesday.
Since the 2013 fiscal year, when the city collected $811 million in fines, violations have been increasing, with parking tickets leading the way, according to the report.
In the last fiscal year, the city collected $545 million in ticket revenues. Quality of life violations, such as littering, building fines and noise complaints, were the second biggest category with $184 million in revenues.
Stringer, noting that New Yorkers are dealing with higher costs of living, said the city is making an effort to reduce fines.
In 2013, the city reduced fines for restaurants, such as non-food prep related violations and waived penalties for eateries with a small number of offenses. Restaurant fines dropped by $27 million between fiscal year 2012 and fiscal year 2016.
Stringer also cited the mayor’s “Small Business First” program, which gives entrepreneurs an online portal for permits and applications, for contributing to the decline in other business-related violations.
The city has implemented changes such as the Criminal Justice Reform Act, which lowers the penalties for first time low-level offenses, and other programs, like the Department of Transportation’s parking meter app, to help reduce the number of violations.
“We have to keep working to strike the right balance between effective enforcement and not overburdening our residents,” Stringer said in a statement.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the comptroller had predicted that the Criminal Justice Reform Act would help reduce the number of violations. Stringer’s office merely stated the fact of the decrease in a statement.
“Quality of Life” fines were the second highest category in the tally, according to the city comptroller’s office. Here is a breakdown of those violations and how many were issued during the 2016 fiscal year.
Recycling related fines: 118,407
Dirty sidewalk fines: 64,693
Other Sanitation related fines: 279,312
Buildings Dept. fines: 53,563
Fire fines: 46,615
Transportation related fines: 67,065
Other Fines: 69,882
Correction: An earlier version of this story initially listed the number of summonses in each “Quality of Life” category as the dollar amounts collected for them. The correct numbers listed show how many summonses were issued for each category.
