Welcome To Town, Guv: That’ll Be $30

by Melissa Bailey | Jul 29, 2011 7:45 am

(24) Comments | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author

Posted to: State, Transportation

After Dannel P. Malloy dropped into New Haven to hear local business concerns, he left town the way a lot of other visitors do—with a parking ticket. The governor paid a visit to New Haven Thursday to meet with the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce on the second floor of the exclusive Quinnipiack Club at 221 Church St. The meeting took place at noon. Malloy’s driver, a state trooper, parked the governor’s black Lincoln Towncar right outside the Q Club entrance, just a block from downtown’s historic Green. Inside the club, Malloy and his new commissioner of the revamped Department of Economic and Community Development, Catherine Smith, sat at the head of a U-shaped table next to Anthony Rescigno, head of the chamber. Over plates of grilled chicken salad, Malloy and Smith listened to answers to the question: What can the state do to better support New Haven’s business community? The bulk of the meeting was closed to the press, despite the fact that Malloy’s office issued a release inviting reporters to come. Malloy later reported that discussion focused on Tweed-New Haven Airport and a planned parking garage at Union Station. He promised to help finally move creation of a second garage at the station, a project that has languished during three administrations over two decades while frustrated commuters have had to park far enough away to need to take an extra bus in order to catch a train.. When the governor came out, he got a taste of New Haven parking agita— a neat orange envelope tucked under his passenger-side windshield wiper. It was a $30 parking ticket, according to governor’s spokeswoman Colleen Flanagan. “Our parking enforcement officers strive to treat everyone equally,” said city spokesman Adam Joseph Thursday afternoon. “The governor or his driver have 15 days to appeal the ticket,” Joseph added. Anyone who gets a parking ticket in New Haven can pay or appeal the ticket through the city’s website, he said. Or, if they prefer, Malloy and other fellow ticket recipients can download and fill out a hard copy appeal form and mail it to the city traffic department, Joseph offered. The gubernatorial Towncar had been sticking half-way into a no-parking zone, which is marked off to give firefighters access to a fire hydrant. Two signs on either side of the spot read “No Parking Anytime.” The car wasn’t blocking the hydrant; it was just a few feet away. The fine for parking within 10 feet of a hydrant is $50. Malloy was tagged for the lesser offense of parking in a no-parking zone. The Towncar then headed to ASSA ABLOY on Sargent Drive, home of the city’s storied 147-year-old manufacturing company, which is now focusing on doors and locks. The company, which employs 1,000 people statewide, invited him for a factory tour. Then the parties discussed how to make sure the company is not “written out of” construction bids on state projects such as on the UConn Health Center. After the tour, Malloy was asked if he intends to pay his parking ticket. “That’s up to these guys,” Malloy said, referring to state Trooper Gary Williams, his driver for the day. “I don’t park.” Who would pay the ticket? “I don’t know, somebody,” Malloy replied. “See you later.” Trooper Williams (at right in photo) opened the passenger side door for Malloy, who got in. Williams got behind the wheel and hit the highway. About one hour later, at 3:41 p.m., governor’s aide Arielle Reich emailed the Independent with an update: The governor had decided to pay for the ticket himself. “I know you had a question about the parking ticket from earlier today,” Reich wrote. “Just wanted to let you know the governor is paying for it personally. He’s dropping it in the mail today.”

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posted by: anon on July 29, 2011 9:04am Well.. there goes a $15m cut in state aid to the city. I kid…I kid. I don’t think Malloy is that petty and egotistical,or I hope he is not.

posted by: anon on July 29, 2011 9:26am Parking in no parking zones reduces visibility of other road users (drivers, pedestrians etc), and therefore is a common cause of someone else’s death. This is good evidence that the fee needs to be much higher than $30. The fee needs to be at least $100 if we want to discourage wealthy folks from outside New Haven, like Malloy, from parking illegally and putting our lives at risk.

posted by: just for a laugh on July 29, 2011 9:29am Poetic justice -just goes to show you that THEY all think they are above the law .Bravo to the parking police for doing your job. Also I wonder with gas prices so high how he get’s away with driving in a Lincoln town car? That’s right shared sacrifice but it only applies to the taxpayers of the state.No problem when we cant figure something out we will just tax them again and again until we are all on welfare.He should run for best actor award.I hope we can all survive the next 3 and a half years with this guy and his administration. My simple question is this If we were in such a mess how come Rell was not aware of it? Just like she did not know what Roland was doing.The old bs of crying poverty with the entire bakery under their arm. We will never get out of this cycle because of the corrupt politicians who filter in and out and their ...appointees.

posted by: Anderson Scooper on July 29, 2011 9:52am I’ll pay for the stupid ticket! Sheesh…. And thank you Governor for coming to New Haven to listen to our needs and concerns.

posted by: CarmicJustice on July 29, 2011 9:53am Just one more example of the arrogance of state police who don’t think the rules apply to them. Malloy should have made his driver pay the ticket.

posted by: DeadbeatDan on July 29, 2011 10:00am Great. Dan being driven around the state in a gas-sucking limo. He got so used to not having to pay local property tax on a vehicle,or insurance,or repairs OR EVEN FOR A CAR, that I am sure he just could not imagine getting rid of that perk!

Remember,he pushed through his giant new SUV so he could haul his kids around the state,because he was such an important person as mayor. Then,all his lackey’s got wheels at city expense…

Dan is Dan’s biggest fan. Very much like Chris Shays (who is looking to get back into Ct. politics) he would pretty much vanish in the private world.

We paid his ticket but NH can use the money to pay for the firemen and lawyers.

posted by: Limited Life on July 29, 2011 10:09am So the muckity-mucks at the Quinnipiack Club want money spent on Tweed New Haven and a parking garage at Union Station. Why? So they can get out of town quicker as it continues its downward economic spiral. Its just more construction to make life easier for the upper class. These projects won’t bring good jobs to New Haven.

posted by: toofunny on July 29, 2011 10:11am I guess he’s learned his lesson. He should always drive with his #1 License Plate.

posted by: robn on July 29, 2011 10:19am It might have been a speeding ticket were it not for the fact that speeding ticket revenue goes straight to Hartford, with the resultant effect of eliminating all local PD motivation to actually enforce speeding laws.

posted by: solsbury on July 29, 2011 10:27am What about all the city police that park all over sidewalks and no parking zones around Union Station, Gateway Center, both with their cruisers AND personal cars? They block line of sight in about 8 intersections every day…

posted by: new haven resident on July 29, 2011 11:29am I just find the photos in the story just plain wrong a Ct State Police Trooper opening and closing doors for Danno! just plain wrong. What are the tax payers paying for this.. And why is there no state plate on the car, or a state sticker that tax payers are paying 1/2 a million dollars a year for.

A good PR move by Danno though paying for the tag, her Royal Highness in City Hall would have gotten a lot of PR miles out of that if he didn’t offer to pay first.

posted by: anon on July 29, 2011 11:42am I agree, solsbury. The parking violations around the Police Station on Union Avenue are egregious, and somebody is going to die or be seriously injured as a result of them someday. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s already happened, given that nobody reports on the hundreds of injuries that happen here each year. Bottom line is, the parking fines need to be a lot higher when it comes to issues like this that have a serious impact on public safety. Otherwise wealthy residents will continue to flaunt the rules, and someone will die.

posted by: Ellis Copeland on July 29, 2011 11:50am So what about all the “No Standing” spaces occupied by NHPD cars? On any given day I spot a minimum of 6-8 such spaces. The city could use the money.

posted by: Anonymouse on July 29, 2011 11:53am The ticket has been paid:

http://www.divshare.com/download/15410540-269 Can we be less petty?

posted by: The Count on July 29, 2011 12:16pm Having a governor who hails from downstate, I would HOPE Malloy will finally de-emphasize Bradley and duplicate that airport’s success here in Southern Connecticut. I would hate to think he’s going to be just another tool for the machers in Hartford. Tweed is overdue.

posted by: Funky Chicken on July 29, 2011 1:48pm What a ridiculous story. Instead of reporting to us what was happening at the meeting you tell us about a parking ticket. I know that they did not let you in but a good reporter would have interviewed as many people and gotten the story anyhow. What a waste of a story.

posted by: Marna Wilber on July 29, 2011 2:09pm I’m grateful to the Governor and Commissioner Smith for visiting ASSA ABLOY and SARGENT. Their attention to manufacturing businesses in New Haven is a breath of fresh air. I just wish the coverage of the visit didn’t get over shadowed by a parking ticket.

posted by: frank best Asked if he will pay a $30 parking ticket, he can’t give a straight answer! His assistant has to give an answer an hour later…...Says something about him….and all politicians!

posted by: Taxpayer on July 29, 2011 8:34pm Come on guys you know Johnny Boy did that for an inside joke to show the Gov. this is his ...

territory! Just pay it GOV. you are a bigger person than Johnny Boy!

posted by: the truth on July 29, 2011 9:30pm Looks like Trooper Williams will be on the 4-12 shift or the 12-8 shift. Why is a black trooper opening the door for the white governor?

posted by: Edgehood on July 30, 2011 7:02pm Malloy asking local business leaders what he can do for business…?? I like it…!! @my fellow commenters ragging on Malloy for coming down in one generic Lincoln town car…

It could have been a motorcade of SUVs or an expensive limo…!! I bet you guys would still complain even if he rode in on a bicycle…!! @just for a laugh…

Malloy’s very first executive order was to switch the state to honest accounting. Here is an article, in case you haven’t been able to keep up…

http://www.cscpa.org/Content/24394.aspx

posted by: bjfair on July 31, 2011 1:50pm How noble. Gov (or someone) paid a $30 ticket which likely would have been $50 for a city resident. Actually this would have been one of the times an appeal would have eliminated the ticket.. @ the truth. The century may have changed but the culture remains intact.

posted by: steven pappas on July 31, 2011 6:36pm If the state would provide a fraction of the support to tweed as they do for bradley,area new haven travelers would have a much better option as opposed to driving almost up to massachusetts to use bradley field.

I have flown out of tweed for many years and the ease of departing and arriving is a big plus,as is being 5 minutes from I-95 & I-91. Once the obstructing trees are removed,airlines will be able to make decisions as to what planes and routes will fit tweed infrastructure.Service to hubs such as chicago,atlanta,detroit,charlotte will go a long way to establish tweed as a true regional airport and the area will be less dependent on bradley and the new york airports.

With the recent improvements at tweed,its time has come operationally and if the airline business climate continues to improve,new service will come.