Woman Ticketed for Sitting on a Playground Bench with No Kids

[Useruser666]

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=local&id=3480711

Woman Ticketed for Sitting on a Playground Bench with No Kids
WABC

(New York-AP, Sept. 27, 2005) - It's an only in New York story. A woman was given a ticket for sitting on a park bench because she doesn't have children.
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.

The city parks department says the rule is designed to keep pedophiles out of city parks, but a parks spokesman told the Daily News that the department hoped police would use some common sense when enforcing the rule.

The spokesman told the paper that ticketing a woman in the park in the middle of the day is not the way you want to enforce the rule.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


I think this is totally stupid. Stupid law, stupid enforcement.

[Medvedenko]

Yes, they should use common sense....If they see a suspicious person lounging about then shake that person down, but a fine...that's just dumb.

[Clandestino]

but how do you know if the person is a pedophile...what is a shakedown going to do.. the park had rules.. she didn't see them... too fucking bad..

you don't get out of a ticket by telling the cop, "oh sorry, i didn't see the speed limit sign."

[ChumpDumper]

but how do you know if the person is a pedophile.What if the adults with kids are pedophiles?

[mookie2001]

^it was her fault for choosing to be poor and not owning her own beach

[Clandestino]

What if the adults with kids are pedophiles?

that is probable too... but then again they could just take their own kids home and molest them... usually the molesters are family members.. ask mookie...

[Spurminator]

you don't get out of a ticket by telling the cop, "oh sorry, i didn't see the speed limit sign."

Sometimes you do. It's worked for me before.

For one thing, a $1,000 fine and 3 months in jail is a ridiculous punishment for this sort of thing. For another thing, wouldn't it be better to require that all children are accompanied by an adult within a certain distance? That would probably curb the risk of a kidnapping more than some preemptive attempt to keep pedophiles away from the park.

[ChumpDumper]

It might be a nice excuse to run someone sheet to see if they actually are registered sex offenders, otherwise the fine is stupid.

[Clandestino]

they way it sounds if you are a kid you must have an adult with you and vice versa

[Useruser666]

What exactly does, "adults are prohibited unless they are accompanied by a child"?

Do you have to bring a kid to the park? Can you pick your child up from the park? It is so vague it makes no sense. It's like a sign that says "NO SPEEDING" without giving the speed limit.

[Clandestino]

it means you can't be hanging out in the park unless you bring a kid there... how can you not understand that?

[Useruser666]

it means you can't be hanging out in the park unless you bring a kid there... how can you not understand that?

So you can't go pick your daughter up from the park because you didn't bring a child with you? What if the kids aren't yours? Can you walk through the playground or do you have to go completely around it? Damn this law, if I want to sit on swing then they can go to hell! If this is a public playground I can't see how this law would fly.

[SpursWoman]

NYC is the last place I'd leave my children unattended, regardless of what the sign said.

[mookie2001]

not my kids!
i take care of my kids!

[SpursWoman]

What does that have to do with the lady getting arrested because of a sign she didn't see?

[samikeyp]

so SW and User can't take a walk in the park unless they bring the kidlets? I understand why the law was created but I think that is a little extreme.

[Vashner]

They should of just told her to leave.. this is so dumb haha..

A judge will throw out...

[SpursWoman]

Unless it's a daycare facility, I don't know why the law/sign is necessary at all. Little kids shouldn't be left unattended in places like that anyway.

[Vashner]

This is like at the airport.. where an 87 year old lady in a walker is frisked and taken behind the curtain for strip search while the males just walk on by...

[Clandestino]

different places have different rules... what is so hard to understand.. go to another fucking park...

[Useruser666]

different places have different rules... what is so hard to understand.. go to another fucking park...

Yeah, they take your favorite park that's right near your house, and they put this sign up. How would you like that?

[smeagol]

but how do you know if the person is a pedophile...what is a shakedown going to do.. the park had rules.. she didn't see them... too fucking bad..

you don't get out of a ticket by telling the cop, "oh sorry, i didn't see the speed limit sign."
*sigh*

[Spurminator]

Clandestino never heard a law he didn't like.

[ObiwanGinobili]

so this is a public park??

i understand park rules like curfew and no alcoholic beverages etc. etc.
but to have an actual LAW that prohibits an entire group of people?? to me that seems like blatant discrimination.

[Clandestino]

Yeah, they take your favorite park that's right near your house, and they put this sign up. How would you like that?

be pissed, but say, fuck it, i better find a new park..

[mookie2001]

or if youre a hard worker and not lazy just build your own

[Clandestino]

or if youre a hard worker and not lazy just build your own


mookie is learning! :lol

[Useruser666]

How about a Tahoe only park? Or one that excludes Tahoes? :lol