New Haven Independent

Posted by: cedarhillresident | February 14, 2008 3:40 PM

Yale better send out an email to there students Warning them.

Posted by: walt bradley | February 14, 2008 5:36 PM

This is not how i want taxes, late fees or any owed monies collected in MY name.
We need to have a system in place to tow abandoned or unattended cars,and people need to pay their fair share, but not like this.
this is something out of the Sopranos, and those of us who've had the joy of visiting the tow yards either by cab, bus or called in favors know the hell that awaits. there has to be a better way, there just has to. Towing fees should not be included in a healthy city's budged. There are no mandatory minortiy owned tow regulations like there are for construction, and there is no written rules for conduct by the tow companies that citizens can make sure are being followed. This is like the third sign of the city's apocolypse.
This method is devious and just plain wrong.

Posted by: PICK-ME UP | February 14, 2008 7:25 PM

WOW! HOW EFFECTIVE, WELL IF WE COULD TELL THIS NEW GADGIT "PLATE HUNTER" TO LOCATE STOLEN VEHICLES WE WOULD BE ONE STEP CLOSER TO DOING OUR DUTY FOR TAX PAYERS.

DOES THE PLATE HUNTER SIMULTANIOUSLY SCAN THE TOW TRUCKS' PLATE TO SEE IF TAXES HAVE BEEN PAID? WINK, WINK, WE'RE TO BIG TO HAVE TO CHECK ON...

TOM SAYS HI, KEEP DRIVING!! YOU WON'T FIND MY CAR, HA! HA!

Posted by: PowertothePeople | February 14, 2008 7:31 PM

For the last several months at least twice a week I see these tow trucks running lights, going the wrong way down a street (one almost ran head on into me on Winthrop Ave last week), blocking several lanes and creating a general sense of terror. I pay my taxes and my tickets so I'm not worried about them towing my car but I'd like to see some of these guys prosecuted for breaking the laws. They are NOT cops. Frankly, they're more like parasites if you want my true opinion.

I think I'm going to start taking pictures and posting them of tow trucks breaking traffic laws and creating dangerous traffic situations.

While I'm at it, I'll snap pictures of cops driving and talking on their cell phones without a handsfree device. My sister got a ticket for that in another state and went to court with photos of over 30 cops talking on their cells. She got the photos in one day. The judge threw the ticket out. Saved her $100.

Posted by: David E | February 14, 2008 8:21 PM

Any word on whether or not this Simeone character will be *speeding* as he does this? Here's an idea: get a few more tow trucks together, give them a police escort, and let them speed all over town, not stop for crosswalks, run red lights...you get the picture. Just like street sweeping in the summer. I would rather have the cops ticket the bejeezus out of *MOVING* cars, the kind that put my life at risk every single day. (No matter whether I am driving, biking, walking...)

Posted by: Citizen | February 14, 2008 9:01 PM

New Haven needs more parking spaces. Areas like Chapel Street and lower Whitney Avenue have way too few spaces for the number of stores and restaurants clustered there. And Yale's ongoing construction projects result in many lost spaces. Still, most of us make do and try to obey the law. When I get a parking ticket, I pay it -- and I expect others to do the same. If you feel you were wrongly ticketed, fight it. If not, pay up and shut up. This is money that belongs to the citizens of New Haven, and I enthusiastically support the Plate Hunter program.

Posted by: Garey Doyens | February 14, 2008 10:07 PM

I'm always surprised to see the glee with which CJ Cuticello unveils another torture tool to wrench tax dollars out of the hands of beleaguered taxpayers. It's equally noteworthy how the mayor, who personally approves of this heavy handed approach, says nothing and is nowhere to be found, nor is his spokesperson Mayorga.

The usually chatty pair are stunningly silent on things that matter even as they run around town selling fairy tales about doing away with route 34.

There's a reason people are behind on their taxes CJ and John - they're too damn high and families are having a hard time paying especially when property taxes are escalating, utilities are higher by 50%, food's higher, insurance is higher and wages are flat to down. For every car that's towed, people should remember that DeStefano fought the state plan to end the hated car tax and replace it with 100% reimbursement from the state. Thank you mayor - you got your fat payraise so you don't have a problem with taxes and you drive a tax free car anyway, compliments of the same hardworking families you are now torturing anew.

Posted by: Nestor Makhno | February 15, 2008 4:40 AM

What happens if your car is towed by mistake? Are you reimbursed for the towing costs? After reading the previous Bootfinder article, I suspect the city's tax records are far from perfect, especially if Cuticello is running the show. Throwing himself in front of that car shows he is not the brightest bulb, though the incident made for some hilarious physical comedy!

Also is that ... character authorized to tow your car out of your driveway or just from the street? This is important, as I would like to know when it is in my right to take aim, so to speak.

Lastly I am surprised that Paul is so sympathetic to the this program. I suspect many of these "scofflaws" are the same people whose homes are being forced into foreclosure by the WPCA. Clearly a car is not a home, but in both cases a person's property is being repossessed by suburban goons.

Posted by: elmcityguy | February 15, 2008 8:45 AM

Is that even a Connecticut plate on that truck?

Posted by: cedarhillresident | February 15, 2008 10:28 AM

elmcityguy
yeah I think it is. It is a special towing plate.

I do think hard times are times when our goverment should stand by those that may be stuggleing. I was told if you owe under 100.00 they will not tow you. Maybe for a year untill the country gets out of the recession they can raise that amount to protect people that have been having it rough.

But I have to be honest I pay my car taxes. My kids pay theres (I hope). So I feel that this is just. At the start of this it was a bit wild west and some shadey things were happening with the towing on sundays and people stuck with out there cars over the weekend accumulating large storage fees.
But they have changed the rules so that these things do not happen anymore.

Posted by: robn | February 15, 2008 1:27 PM

Does the device have the capability to bust people for out of state "Carolina" and "Florida" registrations? I've often wondered how many people are skirting their taxes and insurance in this way.

Posted by: Billy Bob | February 15, 2008 7:03 PM

Now the phones at the New Haven Police Dept really won't get answered. All of the call takers are going to be bogged down with the Tax Departments work inputting all of the tows into the database, while law enforcement matters take a back seat. What a screwed up city.

Posted by: THREEFIFTHS | February 15, 2008 8:22 PM

Hey there is a spray you can order on line and spray you plate and this plate hunter can not read your plate.

Posted by: kris | February 15, 2008 9:58 PM

Robn...I hope so...I cant believe the amount of people that have to travel from carolina to new haven to go to work everyday.I think half of s. carolina works in new haven

Posted by: Chip Croft | February 16, 2008 5:54 PM

1) Tow truck drivers should not be authorized to enforce the law! They are not operating responsibly around town as it is. In the past MONTH I have seen them doing ALL of this - speeding over twice the limit (even uphill by my house), going through stop signs and red lights and turning illegally on red. I nearly got hit by a truck last week that was swinging around with his tow bar down and he was NOT preparing to tow, just agressively searching. They must follow the rules of the road and obey the law - they are NOT ABOVE THE LAW. So with this behavior they are not responsible to enforce it. They have not been given police training to be able to speed, violate lights, etc. I always thought they could not tow unless a police officer of parking person ticketed the car first. How did that change?

2) Towing and using parking enforcement as a quick income scheme for the city is not good business! The city should operate and collect like any other professional business. They should collect via mail and offer payment terms. Most of the time the people who can't pay their taxes and fines are low income people and students who need their cars to make enough income to pay the very high property taxes on our cars. Towing and excessive ticketing have ALWAYS hurt business in downtown and discouraged out-of-towners to shop or dine here. Also towing during the snowy, rainy cold weather months is excessively cruel.

3) We need to make our garages affordable, user-friendly and safe with security cameras and fix up the Crown St garage that now has over 60 spaces out of commission and elevators from hell. Ruling our streets with fear of towing and parking makes New Haven the opposite of the compassionate city that it is trying to be. And it seriously hurts downtown retail at a time of recession when consumer confidence has dropped to its lowest level in 16 yrs.

4) The towing on Trumbull St should be abandoned. It always winds up being two lanes during rush hour anyway and the towing operation at 4:00 PM starts the backup in traffic that lasts into the rush hour. I see this every day and it is only benefitting the towing companies.

Posted by: Edward_H | February 17, 2008 1:05 AM

ROBN

Does the device have the capability to bust people for out of state "Carolina" and "Florida" registrations? I've often wondered how many people are skirting their taxes and insurance in this way.

Not sure if this answers your question.

It can process not just the numbers and letters on license plates, but also the state name; that will enable towers like Simeone to catch scofflaw students with out-of-state plates. And the Plate Hunter comes with a split screen, with no need for drivers to input data while they drive.

Posted by: cedarhillresident | February 17, 2008 11:01 AM

Edwards comment is why I posted...I hope Yale emails there students. Because it finally looks like they will be able to get these out of state plates.

Kris the tow drivers usually have a marshal or tax collection rep that is there when they tow these cars. Not that that is any good.

Our experience with is...
My next door neighbor bought a car; the woman drove it to her house and left the plate on it. My neighbor went to the dmv and registered it in her name and 1 hour after she got home the tow drive came by and hooked the car up. When we heard the screaming we went out to find our senior neighbor lying on her new car. She presented the papers and plates that she had literally just got. The tow driver called the Marshall to come (who was one block over with another tow truck). Despite the fact that this was a unique situation the Marshall told this fixed income woman that the car was already hooked up to the tow truck and despite the fact that she had the papers to prove the facts, they physically removed 3 of us and towed her car away. Because the previous owner owed a lot of money she could not get her car out for a few weeks while she fought it in court and won.

So there are still some rear glitches in the system I still feel it is not a bad thing. Suggestion to the city...as stated in a different story the city has the leagal right to sue landlords for allowing there propertys to be drug houses. Why don't you go after that income?? Everyone would benifit from you sueing these landlords. You can get 1000's in income clean up our communitys!! And spread the word that New Haven will not take it anymore. Or hmmm do we benifit from drug adicts comming to our city far more than we do from stoping the dealing? Which is something that some community leaders havetold me. That we need addicts to get state money for all the programs, housing, and the jobs that they create.

Posted by: FriendlyCity | February 17, 2008 8:11 PM

"...catch scofflaw students with out-of-state plates."
So this means they'll be towing anyone with out of state plates? How do they differentiate between someone visiting here from out of state and a "scofflaw student?"
Brilliant use of public funds and "man?"power.

Posted by: a reader | February 17, 2008 10:17 PM

While the tactics seem a little heavy-handed, I'm glad the city is finally going after students who don't register their cars in state. I live in neighborhood with mostly students. I'd guess that 70 percent of the cars in my parking lot have out-of-state plates. These aren't students who have recently moved here, either --some of the cars have been here for two years or more. Yale shouldn't merely be warning their students that their cars might be towed. They should actively encourage them to do the right thing and pay up.

Paul, this would be a great follow-up: Check out any residential parking lot in or around downtown and count how many out-of-state plates you see. Come back at night when people are home from work -- it's pretty obvious which cars are which.

Posted by: James | February 18, 2008 9:05 AM

Here's a thought. Pay your taxes and pay off your tickets. If you can't afford the ticket, don't park illegally. In fact, don't park illegally at all. How about this; how about we become a city that does not tolerate, let alone encourage antisocial behavior? How's that for an idea?

Posted by: THREEFIFTHS | February 18, 2008 5:22 PM

How do you tow a car with out of state plates if the person who own the out state car lets me use there car as long as i want to, there is no law that says that i can not drive a person car who does not live in this states car,As long as that car is not in a resident name of this state you can not have that person change the plates to this state and that is what a lot of these students do, What we should do is like other states no tax on cars!!!

Posted by: cedarhillresident | February 19, 2008 9:12 AM

3/5's
I don't think that matters(I could e wrong). If you are in the state for more than 30 Days, by law you have to register the vehicle and get a CT license as well. I think you have 60 days for the car and 30 for the license.

I just want to know when they id these out of state cars how are they going to be able to tell they have been here for more than 30 days?

Posted by: THREEFIFTHS | February 19, 2008 3:07 PM

Cedarhill Resident
You only have to change you car plates and drivers license if you become a resident of this state. You have the right to use a person car with
there permission as long as it has insurance out state plates or in state plates.Nobody and no law can stop you if i let you use my car.How come i see car rental companies rent cars out with out of state plates?

Posted by: cedarhillresident | February 20, 2008 8:18 AM

Are you sure my little fraction??? I remember years ago the state did a big thing with people registering there cars in Floria at the vacation homes and there senior parents homes. Because if that was the case I will be heading to NH and signing over my title and having my friend Register and it and insure it this weekend.