Woman ticketed for sitting on bench w/o a child

[scottatmu]

http://1010wins.com/topstories/local_story_270065833.html

The Rivington Playground on Manhattan's East Side has a small sign at the entrance that says adults are prohibited unless they are accompanied by a child. Forty-seven-year-old Sandra Catena says she didn't see the sign when she sat down to wait for an arts festival to start. Two New York City police officers asked her if she was with a child. When she said no, they gave her a ticket that could bring a one thousand dollar fine and 90 days in jail.

 

[darrenl]

So, people should follow the rules, it doesn't make it correct who she is.

 

[Kishin]

So, people should follow the rules, it doesn't make it correct who she is.

1k fine and up to 3 months in jail? For sitting in the wrong place? Bit harsh dont you think? Not like she hurt anyone......

 

[Expirepro]

Kinda ridiculous imo,But i guess the law is law,I hope the officers in mahattan have better things to do though.

 

[NameYourself]

Most likely she will not have to pay. It would cause too much controversy and go against their "common sense" enforcement policy.

 

[Dave Zan]

The judge will be the judge of that. Sheesh.

 

[slavahosting]

look at it from the judges standpoint... Judge is state employed, he gets paid by state, money from fines go to state, thus money for fines partially pay his income.

Ney York like all other states doesent have extra money lieing around at the end of the year, these fines are what fund the police that catch the criminals.

Then theres the other standpoint, letting her go would allow a precedent to occur which pedophiliacs can use as a defense in future, for example next time their in the neighborhood, they can just say they were waiting for the festival to start, just like these women. There would be a grey area that might let the guilty go free.

Giving the lady a fine of lets say $200, won't kill the lady, will set an example to all future potential violators, deminish any grey area, and still get a few dollars to the state.

Everyone's happy.

 

[Luc]

seeing this type of stupid shit makes me feel like our country is going in the crapper.

people can get away with killing their wife, they can get away with stealing billions and having tens of thousands of people lose their jobs, most never do any jail time and all the sudden some lady gets slapped with a $1k fine for sitting in the wrong place.

stupid, stupid laws...

 

[daddypi]

seeing this type of stupid shit makes me feel like our country is going in the crapper.

people can get away with killing their wife, they can get away with stealing billions and having tens of thousands of people lose their jobs, most never do any jail time and all the sudden some lady gets slapped with a $1k fine for sitting in the wrong place.

stupid, stupid laws...

I wholeheartedly concur.

 

[petertdavis]

Well, I think it's great that the city of NY is doing something to protect children. There's always more than one side to a story. How does anyone here know that this woman isn't working on some child pornography thing? The news source quoted doesn't exactly strike me as being in the same league as CNN or MSNBC, so consider a high probability that the facts aren't presented properly (even if it was a major news source, the facts may be misrepresented). As a parent who spends a significant amount of time in local parks with a young kid, I can tell you how creepy it is to see an adult with no child in such a setting. Perhaps it was an honest mistake, or just perhaps this was a person scouting out vulnerable kids to snatch for the next child rape video that hits the net; that's what the courts are supposed to sort out.

 

[QuantumBeam]

:disappoin

 

[TPT]

The news source quoted doesn't exactly strike me as being in the same league as CNN or MSNBC, so consider a high probability that the facts aren't presented properly (even if it was a major news source, the facts may be misrepresented).

Actually, 1010 WINS is a major all-news radio station in NYC that has been around for decades. When I lived down there, it had a good reputation for fact-based reporting. Also, a quick search on google shows several news sites have the same exact text and give credit to AP News.

Here's another, longer article:
http://www.nydailynews.com/09-27-2005/news/story/350181p-298735c.html

Knowing how the city park signs look, I bet this rules sign had a list of 15 or 20 rules in 10 point type.

 

[sasquatch]

As a parent who spends a significant amount of time in local parks with a young kid, I can tell you how creepy it is to see an adult with no child in such a setting.

WOW, it's creepy to be in the park without a child???