Hey, this is a familiar story. Guy drinks beer on stoop. Guy gets ticket. And this guy goes to court. The Daily News reports that Prospect Heights resident Kimber VanRy will be in Brooklyn Criminal Court next month to contest the $25 ticket for sipping a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on the un-gated stoop of his Sterling Street condo. "VanRy said that as one of the cops played a video game on a cell phone, the other wrote him a $25 summons for drinking on the stoop — and allegedly told him not to worry because the ticket would likely be dismissed." He pleaded not guilty to the ticket and got it reduced to $15, but it ain't about the money. Drinking in public is illegal, as we know, but most folks don't think a stoop fits the city's definition of "public" as a place where "public or a substantial group of persons has access, including, but not limited to 'a sidewalk or a street.'" Is this an issue the council should take up?
Prospect Heights Man Cited For Drinking Beer on Stoop [NY Daily News]
Photo by yadroff.
