The cash-strapped city hopes to haul in a record $686 million in parking fines next year in what could become the mother of all ticket blitzes, The Post has learned. Documents released last week as part of Mayor Bloomberg's new $59.4 billion budget show that the Finance Department is projecting a $93 million increase in parking-summons revenue over the $593 million expected to come in this fiscal year.
That would be the biggest jump since 2004, when collections soared a staggering $144 million over 2003. It also would be the most money ever taken in. The previous high was $623 million in 2008.
Motorists and their advocates complain the city is going too far.
"We all know what this is about," said Councilman Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn), referring to the city's desperate need for cash. "Any plan to plug the budget gap with more ticketing is reprehensible."
Councilman Vincent Gentile (D-Brooklyn) said Mark Page, the city's budget director, admitted in a briefing that the addition of 220 traffic agents was designed for a singular purpose -- to drive up revenue, not to enhance enforcement.
"This, to me, is the smoking gun," Gentile said.
Councilman James Vacca (D-Bronx) said constituents are flooding his office with gripes about unfair tickets.
"I've had people say to me, 'Mr. Vacca, [the parking agent] stood and waited for my meter to expire.' I had a person who got a ticket for a tailpipe in a crosswalk," he said.
A driver challenging her tickets at the Finance Department's offices in downtown Manhattan provided firsthand evidence of the zealotry of traffic agents.
Judy Campbell said she received a $45 summonses at a meter in Flushing, Queens, at 7:31 a.m. -- one minute past the 7:30 a.m. expiration time.
"It's total intolerance," she said. "It's a real hunt, a real gotcha."