Nassau not charging red-light camera late fees as 'payment system is currently down'
The Nassau County Traffic and Parking Violations agency in Garden City on Friday. Credit: Newsday/Howard Schnapp
A Nassau County hotline for traffic and parking tickets has been telling callers for days that the payment system is down, but a county spokesperson said no late fees for the red-light camera tickets are currently being charged.
The red-light camera ticket program has been in the midst of upheaval after a state court ordered it to stop charging extra fees on top of the $50 base fines and $25 late fees late last month.
Chris Boyle, a spokesman for County Executive Bruce Blakeman, said no late fees are being charged for the red-light camera tickets while the system is down, but late fees would remain in effect for other types of tickets.
"Tickets can be paid in person and online. We are exploring a phone option as well," Boyle said in a statement.
The Traffic and Parking Violations Agency’s hotline has an automated voice telling callers "the payment system is currently down, with limited capability" without distinguishing between red-light and other tickets. That message has been up since at least Wednesday, when a reporter first called it.
David Brown, whose father Jack is a 91-year-old retiree in Valley Stream, said he has been trying for days to pay a ticket for his father — one unrelated to the red-light camera program — but the phone and online payment systems haven't worked.
David Brown said his father received an expired-registration ticket from the county on Dec. 4, which he can’t pay by mail because the ticket doesn’t state the fine amount.
"My father’s handicapped. ... He’s in his 90s — he can't drive over to [the Traffic and Parking Violations Agency in] Garden City and spend the day waiting in line to figure out what he's supposed to do," David Brown said, adding that his father doesn’t drive on highways or at night.
"I just feel like this is set up to make it as difficult as possible," he said.
Nassau County stopped assessing motorists $100 in administrative fees on red-light camera tickets just days after a state appeals court ruled on Nov. 27 that the added penalties were illegal. Suffolk had charged a $30 administrative fee, but stopped doing so in 2023.
The fees contradict the 2009 state law that authorized local governments to establish red-light camera programs and limited fines to $50 per violation or $75 with a late fee, Newsday previously reported.
A state court ruled this week that drivers who paid extra fees for Suffolk red-light camera tickets are eligible for class certification, moving motorists one step closer to getting reimbursed.
The win for drivers could cost Nassau and Suffolk hundreds of millions of dollars, Newsday has reported.
With Candice Ferrette
A Nassau County hotline for traffic and parking tickets has been telling callers for days that the payment system is down, but a county spokesperson said no late fees for the red-light camera tickets are currently being charged.
The red-light camera ticket program has been in the midst of upheaval after a state court ordered it to stop charging extra fees on top of the $50 base fines and $25 late fees late last month.
Chris Boyle, a spokesman for County Executive Bruce Blakeman, said no late fees are being charged for the red-light camera tickets while the system is down, but late fees would remain in effect for other types of tickets.
"Tickets can be paid in person and online. We are exploring a phone option as well," Boyle said in a statement.
The Traffic and Parking Violations Agency’s hotline has an automated voice telling callers "the payment system is currently down, with limited capability" without distinguishing between red-light and other tickets. That message has been up since at least Wednesday, when a reporter first called it.
David Brown, whose father Jack is a 91-year-old retiree in Valley Stream, said he has been trying for days to pay a ticket for his father — one unrelated to the red-light camera program — but the phone and online payment systems haven't worked.
David Brown said his father received an expired-registration ticket from the county on Dec. 4, which he can’t pay by mail because the ticket doesn’t state the fine amount.
"My father’s handicapped. ... He’s in his 90s — he can't drive over to [the Traffic and Parking Violations Agency in] Garden City and spend the day waiting in line to figure out what he's supposed to do," David Brown said, adding that his father doesn’t drive on highways or at night.
"I just feel like this is set up to make it as difficult as possible," he said.
Nassau County stopped assessing motorists $100 in administrative fees on red-light camera tickets just days after a state appeals court ruled on Nov. 27 that the added penalties were illegal. Suffolk had charged a $30 administrative fee, but stopped doing so in 2023.
The fees contradict the 2009 state law that authorized local governments to establish red-light camera programs and limited fines to $50 per violation or $75 with a late fee, Newsday previously reported.
A state court ruled this week that drivers who paid extra fees for Suffolk red-light camera tickets are eligible for class certification, moving motorists one step closer to getting reimbursed.
The win for drivers could cost Nassau and Suffolk hundreds of millions of dollars, Newsday has reported.
With Candice Ferrette
'It's disappointing and it's unfortunate' Suffolk Police Officer David Mascarella is back on the job after causing a 2020 crash that severely injured Riordan Cavooris, then 2. NewsdayTV's Andrew Ehinger and Newsday investigative reporter Paul LaRocco have the story.
'It's disappointing and it's unfortunate' Suffolk Police Officer David Mascarella is back on the job after causing a 2020 crash that severely injured Riordan Cavooris, then 2. NewsdayTV's Andrew Ehinger and Newsday investigative reporter Paul LaRocco have the story.
