I owed the city $504k after trucks were towed over unpaid parking tickets – but I wasn’t even responsible for the fines | 1ES3N93 | 2024-05-07 12:08:01
I owed the city $504k after trucks were towed over unpaid parking tickets – but I wasn't even responsible for the fines | 1ES3N93 | 2024-05-07 12:08:01
A DOZEN trucks were towed from New York City streets after a company racked up over $500,000 worth of parking tickets.
Green panel vans with decals of candies and marijuana leaves were towed from the city's streets after officials said a lollipop company waited too long to pay overdue parking fees.
Weed World Candies, a company selling THC-inspired candies and merchandise on the streets of New York from green vans, had 19 vans confiscated by police in June 2022, according to local NBC affiliate WNBC.
The company – which only sells marijuana-themed items, non-THC-laced products – said it was financially responsible after ticket recipients failed to pay.
Police towed trucks from storage depots on the west side of Manhattan after the company racked up $316,000 worth of parking tickets.
Interest debt incurred on top of the fines ballooned the fees to $504,000.
Police drew a clear delineation between the company's operations and its parking infractions.
"This has absolutely nothing to do with marijuana; it only has to do with unpaid debt," NYPD Deputy Sheriff Maureen Kokeas told the station.
"The Department of Finance has communicated with these parties many, many, many times over many years trying to collect this debt, and the debt was ignored — so we went out and took enforcement action."
She added that officers need to take swift action when individuals "don't play by the rules."
However, the company said it wasn't entirely at fault.
The owner of the company, Bilal Muhammad, told the station the fines had gotten "out of hand" after private contractors continually failed to pay for parking infractions.
<!-- End of Brightcove Player --> Muhammad said the company was forced to front the parking bill.
Still, he said the city should expect payments from his company.
"The city makes a lot of money off of Weed World, we will make sure our debt are paid," he told the station.
Muhammad made good on his word.
More than $200,000 of the fines were paid two months later, in August 2022, according to WNBC.
</div> </div> The company also structured a payment plan to make up the half-a-million-dollar parking fines.
Muhammad said parking tickets are a "natural byproduct" of operating a company in a condensed city with limited parking like New York.
However, he said he didn't want his company to be grouped with other dispensaries in the city that operate without proper licensing.
"We're being grouped with these up and newcomers that are actually selling real weed and we don't sell real weed," he said.
"We never have."
More >> https://ift.tt/sKiX0Lj Source: MAG NEWS
No comments: