Mayor's Way to Avoid Taxes: Increase Traffic Tickets?

While the mayor did not propose an increase in taxes for next year's budget, he did find a loophole to garner wages for the city--ticketing drivers.

A new traffic policy on Broadway has already stuck scores of drivers with a ticket of $130. The traffic configuration, which is in effect from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, requires drivers to merge into a single lane after Houston Street, which has the potential to back traffic up to at least 14th Street, according to police.

Traffic fines have long been an eyed source of revenue for mayors. During former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's term, some of the traffic lights around the city were rigged to change red at a quicker pace so that drivers could be more frequently ticketed.

The fines have made the city billions over the past decade. In the mayor's budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2013, he has accounted for at least $518 million in revenue from traffic tickets. In 2011, the city collected $575 million from traffic tickets.

Follow us