By Gabriela Resto-Montero
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Mayor Michael Bloomberg vetoed a bill on Tuesday that would have granted drivers a five-minute grace-period on Muni meters.
The mayor said the time extension on parking spots would be difficult to enforce, create confusion and cause more confrontations between motorists and parking officers.
City lawmakers designed the bill to give motorists a break from getting hammered by alternate-side parking violations, as many tickets are written up by officers moments after the rules take effect.
City Councilman Daniel Garodnick, who represents neighborhoods spanning Stuyvesant Town to the Upper East Side, is one of only two City Council members who supports the mayor's decision and voted against the bill.
"I've gotten a very positive response to my vote, both from drivers and non-drivers in my district," Garodnick said. "Grace is not something that can be written into law. What people want is reasonable and fair enforcement, which is best gotten through directives to the traffic agents, not legislation."
Bloomberg's veto was largely for show as Council Speaker Christine Quinn has already scheduled an override vote for Dec. 21, according to published reports.
"Just because it may get overridden doesn’t mean you don’t do what’s right,” Bloomberg spokesman Marc Lavorgna told the New York Times.
Proponents of the bill argued that the city had a grace-period in effect nearly 10 years ago without any chaos.
"People are getting tired of the gotcha," said Simcha Felder, the bill's sponsor, to the Post.
The council needs just 34 votes to override Bloomberg's veto, the bill originally passed with a 47-2 margin.
